DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball fended off Virginia Wesleyan University over the final 9:39 and held on to win 61-56 as the two teams completed a game Friday that was suspended from Jan. 10.
More than a month ago, the two teams began the contest. With the Cougars up 47-43 with 9:39 to play, officials suspended play due to court conditions. The two teams were forced to reschedule the completion of the game, which occurred on Feb. 6 in the Grant Center.
Averett (13-7, 6-5 ODAC) opened Friday night with a four-point advantage and quickly went on a 7-0 run to start the resumed game. That proved to be crucial as Virginia Wesleyan (14-6, 9-3) then rattled off a 10-0 run of its own to get within 54-53 with 2:11 remaining.
Sophomore
Mason Mitchell's clutch 3-pointer with 1:30 to play ended the Cougars' scoreless stretch and pushed their lead back to four points. Virginia Wesleyan had several opportunities to chip away, but settled for only one free throw during that span. Sophomore
Jackson Sellars' layup with 31 seconds to go pushed Averett's lead to 59-54.
Virginia Wesleyan got a backdoor layup with 7.3 seconds left, but Mitchell sealed it with a pair of made free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining to all but seal the win.
Sellars and freshman
Tyler Stephens both finished with 18 points to lead the Cougars. Sophomore
Zach Skogen added a team-high six rebounds.
Back on Jan. 10, heavy rain in the region coupled with warmer temperatures led to unusual court condensation, and officials decided to halt the game for player safety in the second half.
When they originally met in January, Averett, which trailed by two at halftime, surged ahead early in the second half thanks to the hot hand of Stephens. He hit a pair of jumpers to give the Cougars a 32-30 advantage, then drained a 3-pointer to put Averett in front 37-32. Soon after, he got the basket and a foul to push the Cougars' lead to 43-34 — their largest of the game — with 15:23 to play.
Virginia Wesleyan (8-4, 3-0 ODAC), which was ranked No. 12 last week and is still receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll, stormed back with a 7-0 run to get within two points and set up what looked to be a neck-and-neck battle down the stretch. But after several players had slipped at both ends of the floor throughout the second half, the officiating crew gathered and made the call to suspend the contest.
Despite Virginia Wesleyan dominating the glass 21-10 in the first half, Averett managed to stay within striking distance of the Marlins in the opening period. Virginia Wesleyan's largest lead in the first half was only five points, and Averett closed the gap to 30-28 by halftime on a lay driving layup by sophomore
Jalen Chambers. The Cougars also hit five first-half 3-pointers and shot 47.6 percent overall from the floor over the first 20 minutes to keep them close on Virginia Wesleyan's heels before the break.
Averett turns around and hosts Bridgewater College on Saturday at 2 p.m. for its Alumni Day and "White Out" game.
