With five seconds remaining in the game and Averett (9-4) with the ball trailing by two, Andrew Boor made a move from the left side of the basket and went in for a lay-up. However, Tyler Whitlock was able to swat Boor’s shot away, preserving the 79-77 Lions (6-4) victory.
The Cougars not only had a tough time from the field, but also shot 47.8 percent from the free throw line, converting only 11-of-23 attempts. Averett’s field goal percentage was 13 percentage points lower than their average, while their percentage from the charity stripe was 20 percentage points lower than their average.
Piedmont jumped out to an early lead at 28-15 with just under 10 minutes to play. From there the Cougars outscored Piedmont 23-11 to close the lead to 39-38 at the intermission.
The visitors led by as many as 11 in the second half and were ahead 79-70 with under two minutes to play. From there Cory McDaniel and Dominique Stevenson both hit treys and Boor added an interior bucket. However, AU needed one more basket, but ran out of time and lost their first game in the last six.
McDaniel led the way for Averett with 13 points. Rafael DeLeon, Damien Brown, and Stevenson all added 10. Additionally, DeLeon pulled down 12 boards for his second double-double of the season.
Mike Adams scored 20 for the Lions, while Whitlock added 12.
The Cougars will open conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Ferrum College for a 7:30 p.m. match-up against the Panthers.
Newspaper Box Score Piedmont vs Averett 01/07/06 3:00 PM at Danville, VA (Grant Center) At Danville, VA (Grant Center) PIEDMONT 79, AVERETT 77 PIEDMONT (6-4) Adams, Mike 7-13 2-2 20; Whitlock, Tyler 5-10 2-3 12; Adcock, David 4-4 0-0 11; Kemmerer, Kyle 4-7 1-2 9; Walker, Brent 3-7 2-3 8; Kendall, Miles 4-5 0-2 8; Baldwin, Jake 3-7 1-2 7; Green, Jake 1-4 0-2 2; Parker, Wesley 1-3 0-0 2; Belflower, Jeff 0-1 0-0 0; Manos, Pete 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-61 8-16 79. AVERETT (9-4) MCDANIEL, Cory 5-13 0-0 13; BROWN, Damien 3-4 4-8 10; DELEON, Rafael 4-10 2-3 10; STEVENSON, Dominique 4-8 0-0 10; BOOR, Andrew 3-7 2-8 8; BROWN, Cameron 3-7 0-0 8; WILLIAMS, Sterling 2-11 2-2 7; HAGWOOD, Shaun 2-10 0-0 6; WILKINS, Carlos 1-4 1-2 3; HARDWAY, Chad 1-1 0-0 2; GARDNER, Billy 0-0 0-0 0; FRAZIER, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0; EUBANKS, Tyler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-76 11-23 77. Piedmont...................... 39 40 - 79 Averett....................... 38 39 - 77 3-point goals-Piedmont 7-20 (Adams, Mike 4-7; Adcock, David 3-3; Kemmerer, Kyle 0-1; Baldwin, Jake 0-2; Green, Jake 0-1; Parker, Wesley 0-2; Belflower, Jeff 0-1; Whitlock, Tyler 0-3), Averett 10-33 (MCDANIEL, Cory 3-10; BROWN, Cameron 2-5; HAGWOOD, Shaun 2-9; STEVENSON, Dominique 2-4; WILLIAMS, Sterling 1-3; FRAZIER, Ryan 0-1; DELEON, Rafael 0-1). Fouled out--Piedmont-None, Averett-None. Rebounds-Piedmont 43 (Kemmerer, Kyle 8; Walker, Brent 8), Averett 43 (DELEON, Rafael 12). Assists-Piedmont 24 (Green, Jake 7), Averett 17 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 6). Total fouls-Piedmont 18, Averett 16. A-589 Lions snap Averett's five-game winning streak.