DANVILLE, Va. – Shenandoah University won its initial USA South Conference contest of the Rob Pryor era with an 85-83 double overtime victory at Averett Wednesday evening.
Junior Dominic Chappell hit the game-winning bucket for SU (3-10, 1-0 USA South) by draining a stickback of a Ross Heyl miss with 1.3 seconds remaining in the second overtime session.
It was a case of the third time was a charm for Chappell, who mis-fired on the final attempt in both regulation and the first OT.
Heyl attempted a 3-pointer near the top of the key that bounced left off of the rim, where Chappell corralled it eight feet from the bucket and swished the game-winning shot.
The game-winner completed a comeback in which Shenandoah trailed by nine points at halftime and by 11 points with 12:03 remaining in regulation.
Heyl began the SU comeback by draining consecutive '3's' before Bryce Mitchell sandwiched a layup and free throw around an Avery Green fastbreak layup.
This 11-0 run, in just 2:28, tied the game at 53-53.
The two teams then played the final 7:03 of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime separated by no more than four points.
The Hornets and Cougars were also tied on nine more occasions in the remainder of the contest, the last when Jeremy Ruffin knotted it at 83-83 with a coast-to-coast layup for the Cougars (5-8, 0-1), with 18 seconds left.
Shenandoah called timeout after in-bounding the basketball to set up the final play.
Following Chappell's eventual game-winner, Averett got the ball into Ruffin near midcourt, but Ruffin's desperation heave missed the mark to give SU the victory in its final visit to Danville as a USA South Conference member.
Green led the victors with 21 points, all of which came after the halftime intermission. Chappell backed him up with 17 while Heyl and James Bowens added 12 and Mitchell 10.
The Hornets had 21 fewer rebounds than their hosts, but senior Justin Long had a season-high 11 in 30 minutes of action.
The victory also snaps a 17-game road losing streak for SU. The Hornets hadn't won a road contest since defeating Christopher Newport 65-62 on January 27, 2010.
Shenandoah hosts Ferrum on Saturday at 4:00 in another USA South Conference game. This contest is the first of four straight home games for Pryor's club and is the second half of a doubleheader with the women.