GREENWOOD, S.C. - Fueled by poised free throw shooting and a strong rebounding advantage, the UNCP men's basketball squad earned a hard-fought 71-65 victory over the Lander Bearcats in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both squads on Tuesday night at Horne Arena in Greenwood, S.C.

 The win at Horne Arena was the first for the Braves (4-1, 1-0 PBC) since the 1995-96 campaign, snapping a 14-game road losing streak to the Bearcats (3-1, 0-1 PBC) at their home arena. UNCP improves to 15-25 all-time against Lander with the victory.

The Braves' 4-1 record is the most wins by a UNCP team through the first five games of the season dating back to the 1999-00 squad that won nine straight to start the year.

The Braves headed into halftime trailing the Bearcats by a 32-33 score after a rough-and-tumble first half that featured 19 total fouls and 16 combined turnovers. The Braves used their aggressiveness around the basket to shoot 14 free throws in the first half, making 12 of them. The Bearcats, on the other hand, were only able to sink three of their seven attempts from the charity stripe. 

UNCP took the 11th and final lead change of the game with 6:03 remaining on a 3-pointer by Shahmel Brackett and never looked back in securing their eighth win in the 19th PBC opener in Braves' history, and the first under head coach Ben Miller after losing the previous two such matchups under his tenure.

The win was also UNCP's third in 17 all-time PBC road openers, giving them their first conference road-opening win since 1998 when UNCP defeated USC Upstate by a 61-57 final in Spartanburg, S.C. UNCP had lost ten conference road openers prior to tonight's victory.

Both teams shot just above 36% from the field, and neither team shot well from the perimeter with both finishing under 20% shooting from long range on a combined 39 attempts. The Braves also won the battle of the boards with a 45-41 advantage and have finished each game this season with a better rebounding ratio than their opponent. The main scoring advantage for UNCP came from the free throw line, with the visitors connecting on 22 of 33 attempts while the hosts were only able to convert on 11 of 22 from the 15-foot line.

Juniors Chris Hargrove and Nate Priest led the way for UNCP, with Hargrove notching his first double-double in a Braves' uniform with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance. The Wilmington native also added two assists and a steal in 31 minutes of action and knocked in eight of his 12 free throw attempts.

Priest didn't miss a shot in finishing 3 of 3 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free throw line, ending the night with 13 points in 26 minutes. The Tar Heel native also tied for second on the team with seven rebounds, finishing right at his season average for the category.

The Bearcats were led by Calvin Liptrot and Tovi Bailey, who each finished with a game-high 17 points in the loss.

The Braves will return home to the friendly confines of the English E. Jones Center for a matchup with The Apprentice School on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.