PEMBROKE – UNCP scored 15 points off of 11 Augusta State turnovers and held off a late charge to record its first win over the perennial Peach Belt Conference powerhouse for the first time in 10 years with a 59-58 victory over the visiting Jaguars on Wednesday evening in the English E. Jones Center.

The triumph snapped a 20-game series losing streak for the Braves (14-9, 8-5 PBC) and gave them the first win over their PBC East rival since an 82-78 road decision on Feb. 6, 2002. The win also snapped a nine-game home losing streak in the series as well. Augusta State (13-9, 9-5) fell to 4-8 on the road with the loss.

Junior George Blakeney recorded his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Braves, who also got 11 points from freshman Griffin Pittman as well. Devonte Thomas booked a game-high 22 points for Augusta State – 18 of which came from on perimeter shooting (6-for-13).

Wednesday's contest featured nine tie scores and 17 lead changes, including 10 in the first half alone. The Braves outscored their visitors 26-16 in the paint, as well as 15-5 on points off turnovers. O'Neal Armstrong's shot at the buzzer from just outside the arch hit the back iron and careened out of bounds.

"(Augusta State) is a great program and Dip (Metress) is a great coach, so we have a lot of respect for them. Both teams really guarded tonight and you really had to grind for every point that you got," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "In some ways the game was ugly, but it was really two teams that were guarding each other very well. They got a good look at the end. It was one of those games in that it could have gone either way."

UNCP staked claim to a four-point lead, 36-32, on two free throws by Shahmel Brackett with 15:34 to play, but the Jaguars stormed back to take their 10th lead of the contest, 39-38, on a short jumper by Travis Keels just more than four minutes later. The Braves would answer, however, with a key 10-2 run over the next three minutes to grab a 48-41 advantage at the 8:27 mark.

The Braves held a 57-49 lead with 4:28 to play, but Thomas – thanks to a trio of 3-pointers - outscored UNCP 9-2 over the next 3-1/2 minutes to cut that deficit to just one, 59-58, with 58 seconds left. A steal by Armstrong with 21 ticks left on the clock would put the visitors in prime position for the game's final shot, but the Jaguars nearly turned the ball over on a careless pass with 3.1 seconds left before settling for Armstrong's desperation try.

Augusta State used a 6-0 scoring spurt midway through the first half and gained a four-point edge, 16-12, on a Devon Wright-Nelson free throw with 10:57 left, but the Braves battled back to take their fourth lead of the night on a 3-pointer by Ty Alston with 1:37 left before the intermission that made the score 21-20. The sides traded layups down the stretch, with the Jaguars eventually taking a 24-23 lead into the locker rooms.

UNCP will return to action on Saturday when it makes the trek to Aiken, S.C., to lock horns with PBC-leading USC Aiken (16-5, 10-3) in a 7:30 p.m. contest inside USCA's Convocation Center.

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