Ferrum (8-11, 2-6 USA South) went on a 29-15 run to start the contest, as the Panthers took advantage of 12 first half Averett (0-18, 0-8 USA South) turnovers in engineering the spurt. However, the Cougars managed to settle down and trim the lead to 31-30 on a Sterling Williams 3-pointer with 4:43 left in the opening stanza. Ferrum then answered with a 12-4 run to end the half for a 43-34 Panther lead.
Ferrum scored the first eight points of the second half to extend their advantage to 51-34 at the 18-minute mark on buckets by Kendrick Holley and Chris Smith. The Ferrum lead was 76-65 with 3:04 remaining in the game, before back-to-back treys from Joey Barksdale and Williams trimmed the deficit to 76-71 with 2:05 remaining.
Williams scored Averett’s last eight points in the contest, but the Cougars ran out of time and Ferrum escaped with the victory. Williams scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Cougars, followed by 16 from Joey Barksdale. Andrew Boor and Jerrod Harris each added 11, while Billy Gardner paced the team in the rebounds category with nine.
Ferrum’s Kevin Aigbe notched a double-double with a 20-point and 11-rebound effort to lead the team. Holley added 13 points, while Darrian Jones recorded 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Averett returns to action Saturday when they travel south to face Greensboro College. The tilt is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
Ferrum vs Averett 2-04-04 7:30 p.m. at Danville, VA (Grant Center) At Danville, VA (Grant Center) FERRUM 80, AVERETT 76 FERRUM (8-11, 2-6) AIGBE, Kevin 8-11 4-8 20; HOLLEY, Kendrick 6-11 1-5 13; JONES, Darrian 5-7 0-0 12; SMITH, Chris 3-5 2-2 11; EVERETTE, Lance 2-4 3-4 7; GRIFFY, Doug 3-6 0-1 6; FULLER, Rob 2-6 1-4 5; FERGUSON, JR 2-3 0-0 4; MELVIN, Kirk 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-55 11-24 80. AVERETT (0-18, 0-8) WILLIAMS, Sterling 8-15 3-5 24; BARKSDALE, Joey 6-8 0-0 16; BOOR, Andrew 4-8 3-4 11; HARRIS, Jerrod 4-12 3-4 11; GARDNER, Billy 3-5 1-2 7; HAMMOND, Luke 2-6 0-0 4; SHELTON, Aaron 0-1 2-2 2; WILLIAMS, Cory 0-2 0-0 0; CAMPBELL, Calvin 0-1 0-0 0; JORDAN, Matthew 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 13-19 76. Ferrum........................ 43 37 - 80 Averett....................... 34 42 - 76 3-point goals-Ferrum 5-12 (SMITH, Chris 3-5; JONES, Darrian 2-3; EVERETTE, Lance 0-1; FULLER, Rob 0-1; MELVIN, Kirk 0-1; HOLLEY, Kendrick 0-1), Averett 9-21 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 5-9; BARKSDALE, Joey 4-5; HAMMOND, Luke 0-4; WILLIAMS, Cory 0-2; JORDAN, Matthew 0-1). Fouled out--Ferrum-None, Averett-None. Rebounds-Ferrum 33 (AIGBE, Kevin 11), Averett 32 (GARDNER, Billy 9). Assists-Ferrum 19 (PORTER, Jason 7), Averett 14 (BOOR, Andrew 3; WILLIAMS, Sterling 3). Total fouls-Ferrum 14, Averett 17. A-335