DANVILLE, Va. - LaGrange blitzed Averett in the second half to take a 84-66 USA South victory Saturday in the Grant Center. The Panthers, ending a stretch of six straight road games, evened their conference record at 2-2, while improving to 3-8 on the season.
Coach Kendal Wallace
"Our game plan was to control our controllables and we did that. We have trended recently by allowing our opponents to start the second half on a run. We wanted to change that and go on a run of our own and we did. We played possession by possession and throughout the game found small victories in shot selection, rebounding, and good defensive rotation. This is the first time we were able to play a complete second half. I'm very proud of this team. With our record any one of these guys could've laid down and played for themselves. They didn't do that. They stuck together through the bad and hopefully that will now pay off with some good."
How it Happened
The game was a tale of two halves. Averett (6-6, 2-2) led 16-2 four minutes into the game. The Panthers used an 8-0 run to get back into the game. Lincoln Anderson's jumper in the lane made it 18-12 with 12:38 remaining in the half. Late in the half, Julian Cameron made the second of two free throws to get LC within six again, 33-27, with two minutes left. The Cougars regrouped and took a 41-30 lead heading into halftime.
The second half was all LC. The Panthers scored the half's first 10 points to make it a one-point game. The Cougars clung to the lead for the first seven minutes of the half. Henry Blair tied the game at 49, then Cameron hit a trey of his own to give the Panthers their first lead of the game, 52-49.
The Panthers never surrendered the lead. LC finished the last five minutes of the game on an 18-4 run. Kyle Brown's basket gave the Panthers a double-digit lead, 72-62, with 2:46 left. Cameron's 3-pointer in the closing seconds provided the Panthers with their biggest lead and the 84-66 final score.
By the Numbers
The Panthers shot just 31 percent in the first half. In the second half, they shot a sizzling 66.7 percent to finish the game at an even 50 percent.
In the first three minutes and the last five minutes of the second half, LC outscored Averett 28-4.
The Panthers evened the series with Averett at 5-5. LC has won five of the past six meetings.
Panther Standouts
Cameron finished with a game-high 23 points. He scored 17 points in the second half comeback. He led the team with 3 assists.
Anderson had his second double-double of the season. He had 17 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. He was 7-of-8 shooting the ball.
Kyle Brown had 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Blair had 10.
Up Next
The Panthers host Huntingdon in a USA South game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. It will be LC's first home game since playing No. 2 Emory on Dec. 4.
