LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team hosted Averett on Wednesday night  in a non-conference game at Giles Gymnasium. The Cougars outscored the WildCats 31-12 in the second half on their way to a 74-58 victory.

Randolph held on to a 15-14 lead at the 13:30 mark of the first half. A nine point run, keyed by three straight consecutive three-point shots, lifted the WildCats to a 10-point lead, 24-14, with 12:16 remaining. The Cougars would rally with a 15-8 run to go ahead 32-31 with 5:08 showing on the clock. The WildCats upped their lead to as many as nine points, 46-37, with 1:32 left. Back-to-back threes from Averett's Bryce Shaw closed the Cougar gap to three points, 46-43, at halftime.

In the second half, both teams were within one possession of each other for over seven minutes of game time. Leading 53-50, Averett went on a game-changing 21-6 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 74-56, and comfortably claim the win.

It was a tale of two halves for the WildCats. Randolph shot 17-of-34 (50%) in the first half but just 4-of-20 (20%) in the second half. From the three-point arc, the 'Cats were 9-of-13 in the first half but 0-for-7 in the second.

"Disappointing second half obviously," said head coach Pete Hamilton after the game. "Averett played hard for 40 minutes and we only held on to the rope for 20. Certainly a tale of two halves that we have got to correct."

Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) led the 'Cats with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He came away with four steals and grabbed four rebounds. Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) added nine points. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School)chipped in seven points and five rebounds.

Randolph closes out the home portion of its December schedule on Saturday when it hosts Southern Virginia. Game time will be at 2:00 p.m.