PEMBROKE – UNCP shot better than 56 percent from the field and outscored visiting Young Harris by 50 points in the paint to help lead the high-octane Braves to a 94-60 win over the Peach Belt Conference West Division leaders on Thursday evening in the English E. Jones Center.

The triumph gave the Braves (16-8, 9-5 PBC) double-digit home victories (10-1) for the second-straight year, while also marking the 15th win in the last 16 contests inside their home arena. It was the fourth loss in the last six outings for Young Harris (15-7, 10-5) who came into the contest with a ½-game lead over Montevallo atop the PBC West. The win, coupled with Armstrong Atlantic's 81-62 loss at Lander, moved the Braves back into second place in the PBC East.

Quamain Rose scored a game-best 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead six players with double-figure scoring efforts for the hosts. George Blakeney turned in 14 points and 12 rebounds en route to his 10th double-double performance of the season, Shahmel Brackett and Ben Jacobs each scored a dozen points and Brandon Winford just missed a double-double of his own with 13 points and nine rebounds. K.J. Cooper chipped in 11 points, including UNCP's only 3-pointer of the game, as well.

Malcolm Jackson, the league's third-leading scorer, registered a game-best 17 points for the Mountain Lions, while Vince Martin added 15.

UNCP posted a 48-32 advantage in the rebounding column – the 20th time this season that the Braves have out-rebounded its opponent. It was the third time this season the Black & Gold has shot better than 56 percent from the floor, but the first time it has accomplished that feat since a 61-point victory over Barber-Scotia at home in late November.

"I think that we played well tonight," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "They missed some shots that they normally make but, hopefully, we had something to do with that. We have a lot of guys that are capable of scoring, and the young guys are getting more confidence as we go along."

The Mountain Lions trailed by just a dozen points, 49-37, just 2-1/2 minutes into the second half, but the Braves pushed their advantage out to 20 points on a tip-in by Jacobs with 12:04 to play, and then capped a 19-1 run eight minutes later with a layup by Winford that pushed the lead out to 88-53.

A close game for the first seven minutes of the night, the Braves used a couple of mild scoring runs over the next seven minutes to open up a double-digit lead, 32-21, on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Winford at the 6:26 mark. Young Harris pushed its deficit back to single digits with 4:20 left before the break, but the Braves closed out the half with a 10-2 run to lug a 47-31 advantage into the locker rooms.

The Braves will close out a short two-game home stand on Saturday when they suit up to battle PBC West rival North Georgia (14-8, 9-6) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader in the English E. Jones Center.

To watch the full game click HERE.