MORROW, Ga. – Visiting UNCP negated an early nine-point deficit with an 18-7 run to open the second half and used a late steal to grab the first road victory in its series with Clayton State with a 78-73 win over the Lakers on Saturday in the Athletics & Fitness Center.

The triumph helped UNCP (12-6, 5-3 PBC) snap a nine-game road losing streak in the series, while also giving the Braves consecutive wins for the first time in the series as well. The setback marked the seventh loss in the last 10 outings this season for Clayton State (7-8, 3-5) who had won eight of its last 10 home games heading into the weekend.

Senior George Blakeney registered a game-best 17 points and 12 rebounds to tally his seventh double-double outing of the season, while Brandon Winford added 15 points and eight rebounds in the paint as well. Quamain Rose turned in 14 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists for the Black & Gold as well.

Omari Murray scored 15 points to lead a quartet of Lakers in double figures. Juron Dobbs and Andrew Bachanov both scored 14 points for Clayton State, while Craig Wong added 10 off the bench.

UNCP, who had seized the game's momentum heading into halftime, took its first lead of the game on a free throw by Winford just 95 seconds into the second half and never looked back. The Braves pushed their advantage to double digits, 64-54, on a pair of free throws from Alex Bradley with 8:45 to play, and padded that advantage out to a game-best 13 points after Winford's old-fashioned 3-point play five minutes later.

Clayton State used a late 11-3 run to climb to within five points, 76-71, with 12 seconds left and took over possession after an inbounds violation by the visitors, but K.J. Cooper grabbed a steal on the ensuing inbounds by the Lakers and hit a layup on the other end of the court to seal the deal.

The Braves missed six of their first seven shots of the first half and could only watch as the Lakers built an 11-2 lead just four minutes into the game. UNCP finally caught fire and scored eight-straight points to whittle its deficit down to two points, 12-10, with 13:14 left before the break, but Clayton State controlled the next six minutes of play and, in the process, pushed its lead back to 26-18 on Sirdarius Henry's 3-pointer at the 7:29 mark. Down by five with 36 seconds remaining before intermission, the Braves would connect on consecutive buckets by Winford and Jihad Wright to cut the CSU lead back to one heading into the locker rooms.

The Braves will continue their four-game road trip on Monday when the club takes their show to central Alabama to battle Montevallo (10-5, 6-2) at BankTrust Arena. Tip off has been slated for 4:30 p.m. EST.