PEMBROKE – George Blakeney recorded his second-straight double-double and fellow senior K.J. Cooper added a season-high 17 points to help UNCP get on the board in Peach Belt Conference play with an 80-62 win over visiting Lander on Monday evening in the English E. Jones Center.

The triumph marked the sixth win in the last seven outings for UNCP (7-4, 1-1 PBC) who also won for the fifth time in the last six series matchups with the Bearcats (4-3, 0-2). The setback was the third loss in the last four outings for Lander who has not tasted victory in Pembroke since the 2006-07 season (five-straight losses).

Blakeney pulled down 13 rebounds to register his 11th career double-double and his fourth of the season, while Cooper keyed his season-high scoring output with a 4-for-8 success rate from the perimeter. Lander got double-digit scoring efforts from three different players, including David Pruett who poured in a game-high 21 points. Dermaine Smith totaled a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Jareal Smith added 16 points.

UNCP posted a 49-34 advantage in the rebounding column – the fifth time this season the Braves have out-rebounded its opponent by a double-digit margin. The outcome helped extend the home winning streak for the Braves out to eight games as well.

"It was a struggle at times tonight, but give them credit for that," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "We had to fight for 40 minutes tonight. It was a good team effort tonight. We had a lot of guys contribute and some guys came off the bench and really got us going."

The Bearcats outscored the Braves 16-7 over the first three minutes of the second half to get to within five points, 54-49, on Smith's fastbreak dunk at the 16:49 mark, but the Black & Gold answered with a 17-2 run over the next 6-1/2 minutes to push its advantage out to 20 on a short jumper by Brandon Winford with 10 minutes to play. The visitors never got to within 16 points the rest of the way out.

True freshman Alex Bradley scored eight-straight points over a span of 57 seconds in the first half to help the hosts stake claim to a 16-8 lead with 13:43 left before the break. Lander trimmed its deficit back to as few as four points less than a minute later, but the Braves led by as much as 18 points in the opening stanza before lugging a 47-33 edge into the locker rooms.

UNCP will now get a 12-day break from competition before resuming its 2012-13 campaign on December 30 when it suits up to welcome Catawba (3-5) for a 2 p.m. contest in the English E. Jones Center.

To watch the full game click PART 1 or PART 2.