Shenandoah tops Averett men in double overtime

Shenandoah guard Dominic Chappell was able to put in an offensive rebound putback falling away with 1.3 seconds left in the second overtime as the Hornets defeated Averett, 85-83, in both teams’ USA South Conference opener Wednesday at the Grant Center.

Averett guard Jeremy Ruffin had a clean look at a game-winning 3-point shot, but his attempt was not able to drop.

The game was back and forth in the final 15 minutes as there were eight ties and only two lead changes as both teams tried to keep the contest within striking distance.

Averett (5-8, 0-1) appeared to take control of the contest late in regulation following back-to-back-back three-point plays — two traditional three-point plays from Marquis Scott (18 points, 13 rebounds) and a 3-pointer by Justin Pierce (10 points) — to take a 66-61 lead.

The Hornets (3-10, 1-0) scored the game’s next five points to knot the score at 66-66 and the teams went into the first overtime tied at 70-70.

“The difference is they made clutch shots, just big-time shots,” Averett coach Matt Parke said.

Shenandoah’s Bryce Mitchell hit a 3-pointer with 36.6 seconds left in the first overtime that gave the Hornets a 77-76 lead. Scott was able to hit 1-of-2 free throws to send the game into the second overtime.

Averett sophomore center Paul Porter set a school single-game record with 13 offensive rebounds to go with career highs of 23 points and 18 rebounds.

The loss ends the Cougars’ stretch of four victories in five contests and Averett continues the USA South schedule with a home contest against Methodist.

“I just told them in the locker room that it’s very rare that you know when the fork in the road comes. That you’re either going to take the road to success or road to the basement,” Parke said. “We’re going to work our hardest the next two days in practice to make sure this is the road to success. We look at it and say we like the winning part more than we like the losing part. We want to get back to that and rededicate ourselves to being the team that we can be.”

Shenandoah 85, Averett 83, 2 OT

SHENANDOAH (3-10, 1-0)

Green 8-15 5-6 21, Long 2-5 0-1 4, Bowens 5-14 0-0 12, Mitchell 4-6 1-2 10, Heyl 4-11 0-0 12, Chappell 5-8 4-4 17, McEathron 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-3 0-0 0, Williams 3-5 0-0 7, Alston 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 32-70 10-13 85.

AVERETT (5-8, 0-1)

Ram 1-7 0-2 2, Porter 8-14 7-10 23, Pierce 4-14 1-2 10, Scott 6-13 6-7 18, Setters 4-9 0-1 8, Ruffin 3-8 10-0 7, Chandler 5-11 0-0 11, Ford 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 33-79 14-22 83.

Halftime — Averett 37-28. End of Regulation — 70-70. End of First Overtime — 77-77. 3-Point Goals — Shenandoah 11-33 (Heyl 4-10, Chappell 3-5, Bowens 2-7, Williams 1-3, Mitchell 1-2, Green 0-3, Thompson 0-2, Long 0-1), Averett 3-17 (Chandler 1-6, Pierce 1-3, Ruffin 1-3, Setters 0-3, Ram 0-2). Fouled Out — Long. Rebounds — Shenandoah 34 (Long 11), Averett 55 (Porter 18). Assists — Shenandoah 15 (Long 3), Averett 15 (Pierce 8). Total Fouls — Shenandoah 20, Averett 15. A — 102.