FERRUM, Va. — A basket with under 15 seconds to play proved to be the difference in Averett University men's basketball's 67-66 non-conference loss to Ferrum College on Wednesday night.

Averett (0-3) led 66-65 following junior Corey Baldwin's go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining, and that score held until the final 13 seconds when Ferrum's James Smith Jr. hit a driving layup off the glass with 13 seconds to play to put the Panthers ahead by one.

The Cougars got the ball inbounds and called timeout just past midcourt with 10.6 seconds remaining. Ferrum, which had only committed three fouls in the half, elected to foul twice to burn additional seconds off the clock, leaving Averett with 3.7 seconds to attempt a scoring opportunity. Following a timeout, Averett was able to get off a highly contested layup attempt that didn't drop in as time expired.

Ferrum (1-1) led 25-16 midway through the first half before Averett rallied to go in front 36-35 at halftime. Junior transfer Raja Milton scored all 15 of his points on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc in the first period to help lead the comeback for the Cougars.

Baldwin picked up where Milton left off, helping Averett run out to a 43-35 advantage early in the second half. Although the Cougars led by eight twice, Ferrum scratched back into the game, tying it 50-50 midway through the period. Averett held onto the lead, however, until Bryce Hall gave the Panthers' their first lead of the second half with his 3-pointer with 2:35 to play, which put Ferrum up 65-63. Baldwin answered at the other end with a 3-pointer of his own to push Averett back in front until the eventual game-winner was hit by Smith in the final seconds.

Baldwin netted a career-high 24 points for Averett in the loss. He also added three steals. Junior Bryson McLaughlin added nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks for Averett, which shot a season-high 51 percent from the floor.

Averett returns home to play Guilford College on Tuesday, Nov. 23.