DANVILLE, Va. – A quarter century of the Quakers in the postseason was clinched at the E. Stuart James Grant Center, as the Guilford College men's basketball team (13-11, 7-8 ODAC) locked up their 25^th-consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament berth with a 92-79 victory over Averett University (14-10, 7-8 ODAC) on Wednesday night.
 
The victory ended up not making a huge difference as in other ODAC action, Eastern Mennonite University took down Shenandoah University, 73-61, which also would have worked for GC cracking the postseason field, but it always feels better when winning to get in as opposed to backing into a berth. Additionally, with their even ODAC records but Guilford's 2-0 season mark over the Cougars, the Quakers now jump into the seventh seed entering the regular season finale on Saturday.
 
Like the first matchup with their nearest ODAC foe, Guilford feasted on Averett's mistakes, forcing 23 turnovers and turning them into a 35-7 advantage in points off them, and a 29-14 lead in tallies on the break. Defensively, they held AU to .397 overall and .310 from range while the hosts only shot .533 from the line on 15 attempts. Guilford finished with a .446 shooting mark despite going 6-of-25 from range though they finished 20-of-23 at the line.
 
Braylen Salters (Cleveland, Ohio) posted another 30-spot, finishing the night with 31 making all-11 tries from the stripe. Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.) netted 20 points and finished tied for the team-lead with six rebounds. Rival Axselle (Mechanicsville, Va.) was GC's most-efficient player, making 8-of-12 to score a career-high 17 points. Kody Clayton (Cary, N.C.) was great defensively, nabbing six steals plus six rebounds and five assists, one behind Dawson Edwards' (Durham, N.C.) team-leading total of six helpers.
 
Tyler Stephens and Jackson Sellars each had double-doubles in the game, with the former leading the Cougars with 20 points and all players with 13 rebounds. The Quakers held Sellars in check for the second-straight matchup, allowing him to only make 5-of-15 to score 12 points with 10 caroms and a team-high five assists. Timayahs Bracey pitched in 17 points for the hosts as well.
 
In a tight opening half of play, neither team got beyond a two-possession lead for more than the first 15 minutes of play. A Zach Skogen two just inside six minutes gave Averett a lead, 33-31, but the Quakers proceeded to score the following 12 tallies to open a double-digit lead though a quick eight-point counter by the hosts prevented it from getting out of hand. Guilford scored the final five of the frame to take a 48-41 lead into the locker rooms.
 
GC came out of the break and got the lead to a dozen, but then Averett went on a 14-2 rally to tie the game and it would stay close and reach the midway point of the half even at 65. That is when the Quakers pulled away with 16 unanswered points. AU got back to within single digits once briefly the rest of the way, but did not truly threaten as Guilford clinched the 92-79 win.
 
GC finishes the regular season at Shenandoah on Saturday, February 21^st without a playoff spot on the line, thought there is plenty to play for seedings-wise. Quakers and Hornets will tipoff at 2:00 PM.
 
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