DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Visiting UNCP shot nearly 55 percent from the field, including a 62 percent exhibition in the second half, and dominated the paint on both ends of the court en route to a 73-69 victory over North Georgia on Thursday evening at Memorial Hall.

The triumph helped the Braves (11-5, 5-1 PBC) rebound from Saturday's home loss to PBC West-leading Montevallo and lifted the Black & Gold to just its second win in seven meetings with the Saints in Memorial Hall. The result marked the second-straight league setback for North Georgia (7-7, 2-2) who has now lost three of its last five outings.

Marcus Heath scored a team-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field to lead five Braves with double-digit scoring nights. George Blakeney registered his sixth career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Ben Jacobs and juniors K.J. Cooper and Shahmel Brackett contributed 15, 12 and 11 points, respectively. Scott Windom scored a game-best 25 points for North Georgia, while Chaun Tinney chipped in 10 for the Saints as well.

The Braves posted a 38-26 advantage in the rebounding column and outscored the hosts 40-24 in the paint. North Georgia attempted 45 free throws in the contest thanks to 26 fouls by the visitors, but connected on just 28 (62 percent) of them.

North Georgia took its first lead of the game on Windom's layup 47 seconds into the second half, but UNCP embarked on a 7-0 scoring spurt midway through the period and matched its largest lead of the game on Heath's running jumper that gave the visitors a 62-52 lead with 8:31 left to play. The Saints climbed to within one point, 72-71, on Clarence Tillman's fastbreak bucket at the 3:29 mark and tied the score at 76 apiece on Windom's trey with 72 ticks left, but the Braves connected on 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch and the Saints missed two of their final three attempts from the field. Travis Core's desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer provided the final margin.

UNCP scored the game's first nine points and led by as much as 10 points, 27-17, with 8:08 remaining in the opening stanza, but Windom's lay-in at the 5:17 mark sparked the hosts on a 9-1 run over the next  83 seconds that cut that advantage to just one point, 35-34, with 4:04 left before the break. The Braves would eventually take a 40-37 lead into the locker room.

UNCP will be back in action again on Wednesday when the Braves return home to battle PBC East-leading USC Aiken (10-2, 4-0) in the back end of a 5:30 p.m. basketball doubleheader in the English E. Jones Center.