RELATED: Rose Blooms As Men's Basketball Wins Fourth-Straight

PEMBROKE – Griffin Pittman produced a career-high 30 points and shot 60 percent from the field, while Brandon Winford and Quamain Rose garnered double-doubles in the contest en route to a 100-87 victory for the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team over Belmont Abbey on the final day of the UNCP Invitational on Saturday.

The win kept the Braves (5-0) perfect so far this season, marked the fourth-straight game the squad has defeated opponents by 10 or more points, and was the second-time in two days that the squad has taken down an NCAA Tournament team. Belmont Abbey's (2-2) loss was the second-consecutive defeat including a winless campaign at the UNCP Invitational.

Besides scoring 30 percent of UNCP's total points, Pittman also collected a career-high nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. Winford was a force to be reckoned with as he pulled down the best rebounding performance of his career with 18 boards, including 11 defensive rebounds, and posted 14 total points, while junior Ben Jacobs matched his career-best 20 points and logged nine rebounds.

"Limestone and Belmont Abbey are two really good programs and very well coached teams and I feel really good about the wins," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "He [Winford] has been playing really well, has been pretty consistent, and has been really getting a lot of confidence, and it's fun to watch that confidence grow."

Rose claimed his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 12 assists, while sophomore Alex Bradley added 10 points including shooting 50 percent from behind the arc. The Braves shot better than 48 percent from the field and 68 percent from the charity stripe, while also registering a +21 disparity in the rebounding column.

"He [Pittman] really worked hard this off season and it is showing now. The team has really good chemistry, although it's a challenge sometimes with the ups, but they have hung together," Miller said.

Belmont Abbey also had five players with 10 points or more as Chris Davis contributed 19 points and Justin Kuhlman chipped in 17, including four 3-pointers and eight assists. Both Ryan Conrad and Darryl Durham scored 13 points each, with Durham holding onto 11 rebounds for the solo double-double for the Crusaders, and Drexler Clark adding 10 points.

The Braves collected 31 points off Belmont Abbey's 13 turnovers including 17 second-chance scores. In the final seven minutes of the first half, the Braves utilized a 15-3 run including two layups and a perfect set of free throws from Pittman to give UNCP a 15-point lead heading into the locker room at the half.

The Black and Gold took a 19-point lead, 97-78, on Bradley's successful layup with 2:14 left to play in the final stanza. The Crusaders battled with UNCP for the first 10 minutes of the game that included five tied scores and two lead changes with Belmont Abbey holding a six point lead with less than three minutes elapsed, but Pittman's shot off the glass slid the Braves ahead for good. 

UNCP will look to continue its unblemished record when the squad makes the trip up Interstate-95 for a 7 p.m. contest against local rival Fayetteville State (3-2) at the Felton J. Capel Arena in Fayetteville on Thursday.