DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University ended its regular season on a strong note, exploding for 52 second-half points to cruise past Eastern Mennonite University 83-52 in conference action on Saturday in the Grant Center.

Averett (15-10, 8-8 ODAC) turns its attention to the ODAC Tournament, which begins with the quarterfinals next Tuesday. The Cougars earned the No. 7 seed thanks to Guilford College's loss Saturday at Shenandoah University. Averett will travel to No. 2 seed. Seeding will be finalized by Saturday night once all games have been played.

Playing its final home game of the season, Averett couldn't shake Eastern Mennonite (8-17, 5-11 ODAC) early on, but 11 first-half points by junior Josh Seiler and 10 points by sophomore Jalen Chambers fueled the Cougars to a 31-24 halftime lead.

Although EMU trimmed it deficit down to only four points in the opening minutes of the second half, Averett's offense found its groove as the Cougars began to pull away midway through the period by extending their lead to more than 20 points.

Chambers finished with a career-high 19 points to go with six rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Seiler, making his first start as a Cougars, added 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds — including a key 3-pointer and dunk as Averett took control in the second half. Sophomore Jackson Sellars also scored in double figures with 12 points. Redshirt sophomore Timayahs Bracey and freshman Kofi Williams each added nine points, with Bracey dishing out five assists.

As a team, Averett outrebounded EMU 48-33 and shot nearly 46 percent from the floor while limiting the Royals to just 28.3 percent shooting overall.
 
 
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