“I couldn’t be happier for our guys,” said Averett Head Coach Jimmy Allen, who was making his head coaching debut in the contest. “Our guys have worked their tails off and it is good to see that it has paid off.”
Averett (1-0) jumped out early and claimed a 22-13 lead with 9:12 remaining in the first half. After a Seahawks (1-1) run trimmed the deficit to 27-25, the Cougars unleashed a 21-3 spurt to end the half for a 48-28 lead at the intermission. Junior guard Sterling Williams led the Cougar charge with 15 points in the period.
St. Mary’s made a couple of small runs in the second half, but the Averett squad found a way to counter each. The closest the Seahawks came to the Cougars in the final stanza was with 10 seconds left, at 83-73. By that time, there was no doubt who would come away with the victory. The Cougars made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to ensure the win.
The Cougars shot a sky-high 54 percent in the contest, on 34-of-63 shooting. The reason for the high percentage; Averett was scoring lay-ups, as they tallied 48 interior points. Williams paced the Cougars with 21 points. He also added seven assists in the win. Drew Boor followed with 18 points and Billy Gardner netted 15. Jeremy Haskin’s 14 points rounded out the Cougars in double figures. Additionally, Haskins, Lymon Gregory, and Boor corralled nine rebounds each, as Averett won the battle on the boards by a 48-29 margin.
The Seahawks had four players in double figures, but their bench only managed to contribute three points. T.J. Jordan led the way with 23 points and Jeffrey Turner added 17. The St. Mary’s starters played 184 of the Seahawks 200 total minutes in the contest.
The Cougars return to action on Tuesday, as they travel to cross-state rival Lynchburg College for a non-conference tilt. That contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.
Newspaper Box Score St. Mary's (Md.) vs Averett 11/21/04 4:00 PM at Danville, VA At Danville, VA AVERETT 87, ST. MARY'S (MD.) 75 ST. MARY'S (MD.) (1-1) T.J. Jordan 8-18 2-3 23; Jeffrey Turner 6-9 4-6 17; John Dewey 7-16 0-0 14; Ben Stewart 2-12 8-8 13; Dan Engelstad 2-6 0-0 5; Kyle Sullivan 1-3 0-0 2; Darren Johnson 0-1 1-2 1; Ryan Carr 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 15-19 75. AVERETT (1-0) WILLIAMS, Sterling 7-12 4-6 21; BOOR, Andrew 7-10 4-4 18; GARDNER, Billy 6-10 3-3 15; HASKINS, Jeremy 6-11 2-4 14; BROWN, Cameron 2-5 2-3 6; SHELTON, Aaron 3-4 0-2 6; GREGORY, Lymon 2-4 0-0 5; WILLIAMS, Cory 1-4 0-0 2; HAMMOND, Luke 0-2 0-0 0; McDANIEL, Cory 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-63 15-22 87. St. Mary's (Md.).............. 28 47 - 75 Averett....................... 48 39 - 87 3-point goals-St. Mary's (Md.) 8-24 (T.J. Jordan 5-11; Ben Stewart 1-7; Jeffrey Turner 1-3; Dan Engelstad 1-1; Ryan Carr 0-1; John Dewey 0-1), Averett 4-7 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 3-3; GREGORY, Lymon 1-1; WILLIAMS, Cory 0-1; HAMMOND, Luke 0-1; BOOR, Andrew 0-1). Fouled out--St. Mary's (Md.)-Ben Stewart; Jeffrey Turner, Averett-None. Rebounds-St. Mary's (Md.) 29 (T.J. Jordan 9), Averett 48 (GREGORY, Lymon 9; BOOR, Andrew 9; HASKINS, Jeremy 9). Assists-St. Mary's (Md.) 16 (Dan Engelstad 6), Averett 19 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 7). Total fouls-St. Mary's (Md.) 24, Averett 16. A-786 Cougars snap 32-game losing streak with victory over St. Mary's