FLORENCE, S.C. – UNCP used 54 percent shooting in the second half, as well as clutch free throws in the game's final minute, to deal region rival Coker a 68-61 loss in the opening game of the Francis Marion-hosted Zaxby's Tip Off Clazzic on Saturday afternoon in the Smith University Center.

The triumph helped the Braves (2-3) snap a three-game slide, while also helping UNCP improve to 6-12 against the Cobras since it made the transition to NCAA Division II prior to the 1992-93 season. The setback kept Coker (0-3) winless through three games, as well as dropped the Cobras to 1-2 all-time against the Braves at neutral sites.

Four players produced double-digit scoring games for the Braves, including senior big man George Blakeney who registered his eighth career double-double with 10 points and a game-best 12 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Quamain Rose matched a game-high with 17 points, while also adding three steals and a trio of assists, and Fayetteville native and fellow newcomer Alex Bradley posted 14 points, three assists and two steals in 24 minutes off the bench. Ben Jacobs added 13 points as well for the Braves, while senior K.J. Cooper matched a career high with nine assists.

Julian Nelson tallied a game-high 17 points for Coker who shot just 34.4 percent from the field, including a paltry 29.6 percent effort in the first half. Teon Beckett came off the bench to post 11 points for the Cobras as well. 

The Braves led by as much as 11 points, 50-39, after an 8-0 run midway through the second half, but Coker produced a pair of mild  scoring spurts down the stretch and trailed by just four points, 59-55, after Austin Harper connected on the front end of a two-shot foul with 52 seconds left.  Nelson's 3-pointer with 41-seconds left clanged off the back iron, and Bradley sealed the deal with the key defensive rebound off the miss, as well as two free throws on the other end of the court.

The Cobras, again, cut their deficit to just four points on a 3-pointer by Beckett seconds later, but a pair of free throws by Rose, as well as an ill-timed turnover by Errick Bethel, put the final nails in the coffin.

The Braves missed 10 of their first 12 shots of the game, but shot 9-for-19 (.473) over the last 15 minutes of the opening stanza to take a 26-21 lead into the locker rooms. The Cobras used a 3-pointer by Beckett at the 13:21 mark to take their largest lead of the half, 8-4, but UNCP responded with a 7-0 run that helped the Braves grab a three-point lead three minutes later. The Braves would extend that advantage to as much as six points, 22-16, on a trey by Alex Bradley with just less than two minutes to play.

UNCP will close out a six-game stretch away from home on Sunday when it concludes play against local rival St. Andrews (0-5) at the Zaxby's Tip Off Clazzic. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. inside the Smith University Center.