PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team shot nearly 57 percent from the field in the second half and used a key 14-2 run to negate a late deficit and trip up visiting Chowan, 90-78, on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

The result capped off an unblemished three-game home stand for the Braves (4-1) who will now hit the road for three-straight contests. It was the first loss of the season for the Hawks (2-1) who came into the contest averaging more than 91 points per game.

Brandon Watts matched a game-high with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting to lead the Black & Gold, who also got 12 points from both Alex Bradley and Andrew Evans. Newcomer Nigel Grant chipped in 11 points, and James Murray-Boyles came off the bench to add 10 of his own.

Jeremy Smith turned in 23 points to lead Chowan who finished the game with a 49.3 success rate from the field. Kevin Kuteyi scored 14 points for the visitors before fouling out with 51 seconds left.

The lead changed hands seven times over a span of two minutes early in the second stanza before a driving layup by Carlos Arroyo sparked the Hawks on a 15-7 scoring spurt that would eventually give them a 60-53 advantage with just more than 10 minutes to play. The Braves would answer with the momentum-changing run, however, and eventually pushed their lead to double digits, 84-74, on two free throws by Bradley at the 1:29 mark.

The Black & Gold led for the first 15 minutes of the opening stanza, but an 8-0 run helped the visitors storm back to take a 26-25 lead with 5:16 left before the break. A key 3-pointer by Evans at the 2:34 mark would inevitably help the Braves carry a 35-30 lead into the locker rooms.

UNCP will open up a three-game road trip on November 30 when it treks to Winston-Salem for a rematch with Winston-Salem State inside the C.E. Gaines Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. The Black & Gold handed the Rams an 86-72 setback on November 19 in Pembroke.