PEMBROKE – UNCP battled back from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half to tie the score with five minutes left to play, and then outscored North Georgia 18-11 in the overtime period en route to a 100-93 win over the Saints on Saturday afternoon in the English E. Jones Center.

The victory guaranteed a winning season in Peach Belt Conference play for the Braves (17-8, 10-5 PBC), who also logged their first winning record (4-3) in league intra-divisional play for the first time in school history as well. The setback snapped a three-game win streak for the Saints (14-9, 9-7) who also lost in Pembroke for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.

George Blakeney scored a game-best 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, while also registering his league-leading 11th double-double of the season with a game-high 13 rebounds as well.  Shahmel Brackett tallied 23 points – the 24th 20+-point game of his career – while Quamain Rose chipped in 17 points and K.J. Cooper added 11. Sophomore Ben Jacobs came off the bench to score 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 rate from the field for the Braves as well.

J.C. Ward was 7-of-7 from the field en route to a team-best 20 points for North Georgia, who also got 19 points from Lamar Richardson, 16 from leading scorer Ishmael Hollis and 15 points from Scott Windom.

UNCP, who came into the game ranked fifth, nationally, in rebounding margin, recorded a 44-30 disparity on the glass this time around – the 21st time this season the PBC's best rebounding club has accomplished that task. The Braves were 0-for-7 from the perimeter against the league's worst 3-point field goal defense and failed to record a trey for the second time this season (0-for-5 at Clayton State on Jan. 19).

After holding off the Saints on the final possession of regulation, Cooper's running jumper with 3:28 left in the extra period sparked the Braves on an 8-2 run that sealed the outcome. North Georgia got back to within four points, 95-91, on Travis Core's 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, but the Braves got the job done from the free throw line down the stretch to come away victorious.

North Georgia shot nearly 58 percent from the field in the second half and held a 68-58 advantage with 9:33 left in the period, but the Braves put together a 13-3 run over the next four minutes and tied the score for just the second time on a short jumper by Brackett. The visitors took an 80-76 lead on Lamar Richardson's trey at the 1:57 mark, but UNCP would eventually take the lead with six ticks remaining on a pair of free throws by Brackett.

Tied at 82 apiece with 2.7 seconds left in the second half, the Braves had the chance to win the game in regulation, but North Georgia forced a turnover on the inbounds pass to keep the score even. Richardson's fall-away 3-pointer at the buzzer would go off the side of the iron, however.

UNCP will hit the road again on Thursday when the Braves trek to Savannah, Ga., to battle PBC East rival Armstrong Atlantic (14-9, 9-7) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader in Alumni Arena. The Braves posted an 83-78 win over the Pirates earlier this month in Pembroke.

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