Averett (6-3) led 27-15 early in the game before a Builders (3-7) run pulled them within one at 31-30 with 3:03 remaining in the first half. However, pushed their lead to 36-32 late in the half before Dominique Stevenson made a spin move at the top of the key and hit a free throw line jumper at the buzzer to give AU a 38-32 lead at the intermission.
In the second half, the Cougars embarked on a 13-6 run to open the stanza to enjoy a 51-38 advantage. Averett led by double figures for the rest of the game before claiming the 20-point victory.
Damien Brown followed McDaniel with 11 points and a team-best seven boards. Shaun Hagwood added nine. The balanced Cougars had five other players score five points each. Sterling Williams and Stevenson each passed four assists for Averett.
Mark Strom scored 17 points, including 15 in the first half, to pace the Builders attack.
Averett will return to action on Saturday when they host Maryville College (Tenn.) in the Grant Center, the number 22 team in Division III. That game is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
Apprentice School vs Averett 12/14/05 7:00 PM at Danville, VA (Grant Center) At Danville, VA (Grant Center) AVERETT 80, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 60 APPRENTICE SCHOOL (3-7) Mark Strom 6-11 3-3 17; Charles Holiday 4-14 2-2 11; Jonathan Martin 4-8 0-2 8; Stanford Johnson 4-8 0-0 8; Fred Spratley 3-6 0-0 6; Donnell Gilchrist 2-2 0-0 4; Michael Evans 0-1 4-4 4; Davon Speight 1-2 0-0 2; Nolan Thompson 0-2 0-0 0; Reggie Bell 0-1 0-0 0; Warren Cherry 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 9-11 60. AVERETT (6-3) MCDANIEL, Cory 7-17 0-0 18; BROWN, Damien 5-8 1-4 11; HAGWOOD, Shaun 3-5 1-2 9; BROWN, Cameron 1-3 2-2 5; WILLIAMS, Sterling 2-9 1-1 5; DELEON, Rafael 1-6 3-8 5; EUBANKS, Tyler 2-2 0-0 5; BRAAKMAN, Dimitri 2-4 0-0 5; STEVENSON, Dominique 2-5 0-0 4; FRAZIER, Ryan 1-1 0-0 3; HAMMOND, Luke 1-2 0-0 3; BOOR, Andrew 1-4 1-2 3; WILKINS, Carlos 1-3 0-0 2; GARDNER, Billy 1-2 0-0 2; STONE, Max 0-0 0-0 0; PARKER, Justin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-71 9-19 80. Apprentice School............. 32 28 - 60 Averett....................... 38 42 - 80 3-point goals-Apprentice School 3-12 (Mark Strom 2-4; Charles Holiday 1-5; Fred Spratley 0-1; Nolan Thompson 0-1; Warren Cherry 0-1), Averett 11-26 (MCDANIEL, Cory 4-9; HAGWOOD, Shaun 2-3; BROWN, Cameron 1-2; HAMMOND, Luke 1-2; FRAZIER, Ryan 1-1; BRAAKMAN, Dimitri 1-2; EUBANKS, Tyler 1-1; STEVENSON, Dominique 0-2; WILLIAMS, Sterling 0-4). Fouled out--Apprentice School-None, Averett-None. Rebounds-Apprentice School 38 (Jonathan Martin 7), Averett 41 (BROWN, Damien 7). Assists-Apprentice School 10 (Jonathan Martin 5), Averett 19 (STEVENSON, Dominique 4; WILLIAMS, Sterling 4). Total fouls-Apprentice School 19, Averett 14. A-107