AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State used nine 3-pointers and a myriad of free throws to grab a 14-point lead midway through the second half, but the Jaguars were forced to hold off a last-minute run by visiting UNCP en route to capturing a 76-72 win over the Braves on Wednesday evening in the Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The setback handed UNCP (12-7, 6-3 PBC) consecutive losses for just the second time this season and dipped the Braves to third place in the PBC East division standings. Augusta State (12-7, 8-3) recorded its 20th-straight victory in the series and its 11th-straight home victory over the Braves as well.

Newcomer Ben Jacobs scored a career-best 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field to pace UNCP, who also got a dozen points from Shahmel Brackett, Marcus Heath and George Blakeney. Devon Wright-Nelson led the hosts with 17 points, but the Jaguars also got 15 points from O'Neal Armstrong and 11 more from Devonte Thomas.

The hosts connected on 31-of-36 free throw attempts in the contest and registered nine or more 3-pointers for just the fifth time this season. Augusta State was 22-of-30 from the charity stripe in the second half alone.

UNCP trimmed a 10-point halftime deficit down to just seven, 39-32, just more than two minutes into the second stanza, but the Jaguars took their largest lead of the game, 54-40, with 9:34 left on a pair of free throws from Thomas. Trailing by 11 points with just 2:16 remaining, the Braves used a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to whittle its deficit down to just three points, 72-69, with 13 seconds on the clock. The Jaguars connected on their final 13 free throws of the outing, including an 8-for-8 clip in the final 33 seconds.

UNCP staked claim to an eight-point lead just 5:38 into the first half, but the Jaguars used a 12-3 run to take their first lead of the contest, 17-16, on a Harold Doby jumper six minutes later. A free throw by Blakeney would tie the game at the 8:45 mark, but the charity stripe bucket marked the last scoring for UNCP until more than 4-1/2 minutes later when Brackett canned a pair of free throws with 4:13 remaining before the intermission. By that time, the hosts had claimed a 10-point advantage, 27-17.

UNCP will continue a four-game road trip on Saturday when the Braves head back to the state of Georgia to lock horns with Columbus State (9-8, 4-4) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. women's and men's doubleheader inside CSU's Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center.