FERRUM, Va. -- Marcus Huff's game-winning jumper with three seconds left in regulation lifted Ferrum College to its first men's basketball win of the season, a 69-67 non-conference victory over Averett University this afternoon at Swartz Gym.

RECORDS
Ferrum (1-5)
Averett (0-4)

THE BASICS
Ferrum led 34-30 at halftime, but Averett used a 10-0 run to open the second half and take a 40-34 lead. Later in the half, the Panthers used a 13-0 spurt to grab a 57-49 lead on Rashad Reed's layup with just over nine minutes left to play. With 2:25 left to play, Averett's Montre' Cash was fouled and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 62-62. Timothy Henry gave the Cougars a 63-62 lead with a made free throw at 1:20, but Nick Helton's layup gave Ferrum the lead back at 64-63 with 0:54 showing on the clock. Jalen Burnett's layup 12 seconds later put the Cougars back in front 65-64, then Helton drilled a three-pointer from the left side for a 67-65 lead with 26 seconds left.

Burnett was fouled driving to the basket with 17 seconds remaining and drained a pair of free throws to tie the game at 67-67. Ferrum advanced the ball to mid-court and called a timeout to set up one last play. Huff then took the ball at the top of the key, dribbled to his right and sank an off-balance 12-foot jumper with 3.1 seconds left for the win.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Huff 23 pts, 5 3FG; Reed 12 pts; Helton 10 pts; Steven Gilbert 6 asst
Averett: Burnett 21 pts; Vince Contreras 11 pts

BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"Great team win for our guys. They battled hard for 40 minutes. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but we got the job done. We competed really hard on both sides of the ball. I was most proud of our ability to battle adversity. We've been working hard to emphasize how we are reacting when things are going bad. We took a step in that direction today. We have a long ways to go, but I'm happy for the guys to experience some success. Really proud of Marcus for stepping up and making a big shot, happy for him as a senior to be able to have that moment." --Head Coach Tyler Sanborn

NEXT GAME
Sanborn's team will be back in action Wednesday, Nov. 28, at home against Eastern Mennonite University. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference game tips off at 7:00 p.m. in Swartz Gym.