PEMBROKE – The 14th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team rallied back from a 15-point halftime deficit to take the lead on a pair of free throws by Brandon Watts with six seconds left, and then forced a turnover on the other end of the court to preserve a 65-64 win over upset-minded Flagler on Saturday afternoon in the English E. Jones Center.

It was the 11th home win of the season for the Braves (18-3, 9-3 PBC) who improved to 9-2 all-time against the Saints, including a perfect 6-0 mark in Pembroke. Flagler (8-11, 3-9) has now dropped 11 of its last 14 contests since starting the season with a 5-0 mark.

Watts and Ben Jacobs each registered a team-best 15 points for UNCP, who also got a dozen points from Quamain Rose. Griffin Pittman added seven points, five rebounds and eight assists for the hosts as well. UNCP, which shot just 25 percent from the floor in the opening half, fueled the comeback with 27 points off of 18 turnover as well.

Dennis Diaz turned in a game-best 16 points for the Saints, while Oklahoma transfer Keshaun Hamilton produced eight points and 14 rebounds. Three other players scored in double figures for the visitors as well.

Flagler turned back several UNCP rallies through the first five minutes of the second half, but two free throws by Watts with 15:33 left to play sparked the Braves on a game-changing 15-4 run that pulled them to within a point, 48-47, four minutes later. The hosts took their first lead of the game on a short jumper by Rose with 53 seconds remaining, but Hamilton's tip in on the ensuing possession gave the lead back to the Saints.

Flagler scored nine of the game's first 11 points to set the tone early, but led by as much as 15 points, 28-13, after Kessler Bell's 3-pointer at the 8:04 mark. The Black & Gold put together a short scoring spurt to get to within 29-19 on two free throws by Rose with just more than four minutes to play, but Flagler closed the half on a 9-4 run to take a 38-23 lead into the intermission.

The Braves will open up another two-game road trip on Wednesday when they head to southwest South Carolina to take on PBC East rival USC Aiken (10-11, 5-7) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the Convocation Center.