DANVILLE, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team made its first visit in seven years to Averett in the first meeting of the two schools since the Cougars joined the ODAC. AU defeated the WildCats 62-41.

Averett got out in front 5-0 early in the first half but Randolph recovered as it went on an 11-2 run to go up 11-7 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the period. Averett came back to tie and then lead by a basket until Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) tied it up on a layup. The Cougars used a 13-5 run for the remainder of the period to lead 28-20 at halftime.

A three by Phillips-McLoyd to start the second half cut the Randolph deficit to five points but Averett's Jordan Lewis answered with a trey of his own to up the AU advantage to eight points. The 'Cats closed their deficit to four points at 14:34 but the Cougars' 21-7 run that spanned over 11 minutes of game time was the difference maker as the home team led 54-36 with 5:08 left to play.

Randolph was 16-of-59 (27.1%) overall and 5-of-15 from behind the three-point arc. Averett was 24-of-67 (35.8%) from the floor and 11-of-32 (34.4%) in three-point attempts. Averett led the rebounding battle 44-34.

Phillips-McLoyd led with 14 points. Kyle Ferguson (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) contributed 12 points. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The WildCats return to Giles Gymnasium to host Washington and Lee on Wednesday night. Game time is at 7:30 p.m.