Shenandoah (12-8, 8-3) led 51-33 at the break and cruised to its sixth straight win over the Cougars (0-21, 0-11).
Coach Rob Harris' club also clinched at least a .500 season for the third straight year and Harris brought himself to within one game of the .500 mark for his career. The fourth year head coach is now 49-50 overall; he will try to reach .500 on Tuesday when SU hosts Ferrum in the home finale on Tuesday.
Before Saturday's game, Shenandoah honored seniors Chad Brashears, Halston Camp and Lenny Myers and all three played a major part in the victory.
Breahears and Chris Rhone had a game high 18 points, Camp added 14 points and a game high 15 boards while Myers brought the house down with a thunderous second-half slam dunk.
While SU cooled off a bit in the second half from the field (45.9 percent vs. 51.4 percent in the first), the Hornets were too much for Averett. SU forced 20 turnovers with a season high 15 steals and also blocked three AU shots.
The Cougars were able to stay with their hosts only briefly; after they got within two at 17-15 with 11:28 to play in the first, Shenandoah reeled off a 10-0 that got the lead into double digits for the first time.
Averett was able to cut to under 10 just two more times during the first and did not get closer than 12 at any point in the second. Harris eventually emptied his bench; all 14 players saw action in the same game for the first time all season.
Kenneth Purnell, who did not start because of senior day, had 16 points in just 23 minutes of action.
Jarrod Harris had 15, Joey Barksdale and Andrew Boor 13 and Matthew Jordan 10 for AU.
A complete box score and play by play can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/mb/200304/021404.htm
Newspaper Box Score Averett Cougars vs Shenandoah Hornets 2/14/04 4:00 at Shingleton Gymnasium - Winchester, Va. At Shingleton Gymnasium - Winchester, Va. SHENANDOAH HORNETS 99, AVERETT COUGARS 69 AVERETT COUGARS (0-21, 0-11) HARRIS, Jerrod 6-15 3-5 15; BARKSDALE, Joey 5-10 1-2 13; BOOR, Andrew 5-12 3-4 13; JORDAN, Matthew 4-7 0-0 10; GARDNER, Billy 3-7 1-2 7; HAMMOND, Luke 3-5 0-0 7; JOHNSON, Kashif 2-4 0-1 4; CAMPBELL, Calvin 0-2 0-0 0; SHELTON, Aaron 0-1 0-0 0; HUNTER, Marcus 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 8-14 69. SHENANDOAH HORNETS (12-8, 8-3) BRASHEARS, Chad 6-15 0-0 18; RHONE, Chris 6-8 5-6 18; PURNELL, Kenneth 6-15 2-2 16; CAMP, Halston 6-8 2-2 14; BRODIE, James 3-4 3-4 9; MYERS, Lenny 2-8 0-0 5; JENKINS, Chris 2-4 0-0 5; ONUNAKU, Onyie 1-4 2-3 4; MITCHELL, TJ 1-1 2-2 4; WARD-HAMIEL, Drew 2-2 0-0 4; BROWN, Julius 0-2 2-2 2; YAMOAH, Stephen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-72 18-21 99. Averett Cougars............... 33 36 - 69 Shenandoah Hornets............ 51 48 - 99 3-point goals-Averett Cougars 5-12 (BARKSDALE, Joey 2-4; JORDAN, Matthew 2-4; HAMMOND, Luke 1-2; JOHNSON, Kashif 0-1; CAMPBELL, Calvin 0-1), Shenandoah Hornets 11-25 (BRASHEARS, Chad 6-13; PURNELL, Kenneth 2-7; RHONE, Chris 1-1; MYERS, Lenny 1-3; JENKINS, Chris 1-1). Fouled out--Averett Cougars-None, Shenandoah Hornets-None. Rebounds-Averett Cougars 34 (BOOR, Andrew 10), Shenandoah Hornets 46 (CAMP, Halston 15). Assists-Averett Cougars 11 (HAMMOND, Luke 4; BARKSDALE, Joey 4), Shenandoah Hornets 13 (RHONE, Chris 4). Total fouls-Averett Cougars 16, Shenandoah Hornets 18. A-752