WILSON – Michael Boykin forced a steal with 17 seconds left and converted a layup on the other end of the court to give Barton the lead for good as the Bulldogs rallied back from an early 11-point deficit to stun the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team, 83-82, on Saturday evening in Wilson.
The setback snapped a four-game win streak for the Braves (5-2) who suffered their first road loss of the season in the process as well. It was the fourth-straight victory for the Bulldogs (6-3) who have now won three of the last four in the series with the Black & Gold.
Nigel Grant scored a game-best 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting to pace the Braves who out-rebounded Barton 42-31 on the night, including 19 offensive boards that led to 22 second chance points. Fellow newcomer
Andrew Evans added 15 points before fouling out late in the contest, while freshman
Akia Pruitt chipped in six points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
R.J. Claypool poured in 18 points off the bench to pace the Bulldogs who scored 20 of their points off of 15 turnovers by the Braves. Matt Woods registered 14 points, while Boykin tallied a dozen.
UNCP led 54-45 after a pair of free throws by Grant with 15:48 to play, but a 3-pointer by Woods on the ensuing possession sparked the hosts on a game-changing 14-4 run that eventually gave them a 58-57 lead just more than four minutes later. The lead would change hands seven times over the next 10 minutes, but Boykin threw the final dagger for Barton with 17 ticks remaining.
The Braves had their chances in the waning seconds, but
Alex Bradley missed a jumper with four seconds left and, after Barton could not convert either end of a two-shot foul with two seconds left, a desperation trey by the visitors fell short as well.
The teams went back and forth for much of the first nine minutes of the opening half, but
Mike Smith's 3-pointer at the 10:16 mark gave the Black & Gold a lead it would not relinquish heading into intermission. An 8-0 scoring spurt later in the period would eventually give the visitors a 39-28 advantage after a 3-pointer by Evans with 3:15 left before the break.
The Braves will wrap up a three-game road trip on Wednesday when they trek to Mount Olive (1-8) to battle the Trojans in a 7:30 p.m. tilt inside Kornegay Arena.
