RELATED: Men's Basketball Continues Run At Mayaguez Classic By Surging Past UPR-Mayaguez

MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO – Using 51.9 percent shooting from the field and 81.0 percent from the charity stripe, the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team trampled the Puerto Rico-Bayamon Vaqueros, 77-61,  in the final day of competition at the Mayaguez Basketball Classic on Saturday.

Brandon Winford carried a team-high 18 points, who was 6-for-8 from the field, and notched seven rebounds for the Braves (3-0) to assist in the victory. UNCP's 3-0 start is its fastest in 14 years following the 1999-00 squad that rattled off nine-straight victories to begin the season and finished with a 16-11 mark.

The Vaqueros came into Saturday's outing less than 24 hours after posting a big 50-45 win over fourth-ranked USC Aiken. The Pacers were slated to take home the 2013-14 Peach Belt Conference regular season championship in a poll of the league's coaches two weeks ago.

Quamain Rose and Jihad Wright posted 12 points apiece as Rose snatched up five steals and was perfect from behind the arc in his 25 minutes of action on the court. Sophomore Alex Bradley also registered double-digit scoring as he drained 11 points and dished out a team-best four assists.

"I'm really proud of our guys and our effort tonight," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "I thought we were a little sluggish early in the first half, but the second half, especially the last 15 minutes, were about as good as we have played in a while in terms of effort, togetherness and the guys overcoming the fatigue with three games in three days. I am very proud of them and I appreciate all the people involved that have been a part of helping our team with this tournament."

Jeshua Ayala led a game-high 19 points, while Carolos Ramos added another 17 points and eight assists for UPR-Bayamon. Despite holding a four-point lead at the half, the Vaqueros suffered 11 turnovers and only 10 rebounds in the final 20 minutes to finish the game with a 16-point deficit.

In the game that saw 15 lead changes and five ties, UNCP logged 28 points off the 22 turnovers by UPR-Bayamon, 13 second chance points off its own 32 rebounds and claimed 42 defensive stops.

The Braves will host their season-opening home contest of the 2013-14 campaign on Friday against Limestone (1-0) as a part of the UNCP Invitational in the English. E Jones Center. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.