Hawks score at the buzzer to beat Averett in USA South semifinals

DANVILLE, Va.  – The Huntingdon men's basketball team scored twice in the final 16 seconds to knock off Averett University 86-84 in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night.  

James Harris scored to tie the game 84-84 with 16 seconds remaining and then made a steal with six seconds to play. Harris passed to Aaron Washington who took a contested shot under the basket. Washington's shot was off the mark, but Jacob Champion was there to tip it in for the win at the buzzer.

The Hawks (14-13) will play Methodist (17-10) for the conference championship on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Central) at Averett. Methodist advanced to the championship game with a 76-71 win over Covenant in the other semifinal game.

This is Huntingdon's second appearance in the USA South Tournament championship game and the first since 2014, when the Hawks finished as runner-up. This is Methodist's second straight appearance in the tournament championship. The Monarchs last won a conference title in 2005.

Friday marked the 14^th game decided by three points or less for Huntingdon this season. Huntingdon's win was its second against Averett this season. The Hawks won the first meeting 93-92 in December. Friday's semifinal win snapped a 14-game winning streak for Averett (20-7).

Champion's basket at the buzzer gave Huntingdon its first lead of the game. Huntingdon fell behind early as Averett scored the first nine points of the game and built a 44-32 lead at halftime. Huntingdon trailed by double digits for much of the second half and faced a 15-point deficit twice in the final seven minutes of the game.

That's when Huntingdon began to make a final push. Trailing 74-59 with 5:56 to play, Huntingdon closed the game with a 27-7 run. Huntingdon still trailed 80-70 with 2:17 to play, but outscored the Cougars 16-4 to complete the rally.

Champion and Harris combined to score 12 of the Hawks' final 16 points. Champion hit two 3-pointers during the stretch before scoring the final basket. Harris added four points and Charvez' Hobson and Washington each had two points during the final run.

Damien Madison scored 19 points for the Hawks and Harris had 14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and the one pivotal steal. Champion finished with 14 points, Washington had 10 points, Caleb Toney had eight points and six rebounds and Mykel Woods had seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

Records: Huntingdon (14-13); Averett (20-7)                                                               

Coming Up: Huntingdon will play Methodist for the conference championship on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Central) at Averett.