PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team scored 16-straight points in the first half to eventually drag a 20-point advantage into the locker rooms, but had to hold off a furious second half rally by visiting Lander on the way to an 83-69 victory over the Bearcats on Wednesday evening.
The triumph marked the fifth-straight victory for the Braves (14-4, 7-2 PBC) – their longest winning skein since reeling together nine-straight wins midway through the 2014-15 campaign. It was the eighth loss in the last 10 outings for the Bearcats (5-11, 2-5) who have now come away empty in eight of their last 10 trips to Pembroke.
Nigel Grant,
Mike Smith and
Andrew Evans all contributed 14 points to lead a potent offensive effort for the Braves, while all-American
Quamain Rose finished a solid night with eight points, seven assists and six rebounds. Freshman
Akia Pruitt tallied 13 points and eight boards for the hosts as well.
Chris Tate and J.R. Washington both scored a game-high 16 points for the Bearcats who were out-rebounded in the outing by a 40-24 count, including a 24-9 disparity in the opening stanza. Clenzo Ross and Rahu Purdie added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bearcats trimmed their 20-point halftime deficit down to 14 just less than four minutes into the second half, but UNCP answered with a 9-2 run minutes later to go back out in front by 21 after
Carson Mounce's hook shot at the 12:22 mark. It would not be the last gasp for the Bearcats who got to within single digits, 78-69, on Tate's fastbreak dunk with 47 ticks left. An intentional foul on the other end would quash the comeback attempt, however.
The lead changed hands twice in the first 14 minutes of the first half, but Pruitt hit the front end of a two-shot foul with 6:23 left before the break to spark a 26-4 run that put the Braves out in front for good. Lander shot just 25 percent from the field (1-for-6 from the perimeter) and turned the ball over four times over the final 6-1/2 minutes of the first period.
The Braves will hit the road again on Saturday when they travel to southwest South Carolina to take on PBC East rival USC Aiken (12-4, 6-3) in the second half of a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the Convocation Center.
