FLORENCE, S.C. – Newcomer James Murray-Boyles came off the bench to score 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and lead the 11th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team to a 78-66 victory over Catawba on Saturday afternoon at the PBC/SAC Challenge in Florence, S.C.
The Braves (1-1) shot better than 52 percent in the second half and canned 32-of-36 attempts at the free throw line to key its first victory of the season inside Francis Marion's Smith University Center. It was the third-straight series loss for the Indians (0-2) who are winless through their first two games for just the second time in the last eight seasons.
Murray Boyles saw just 10 minutes in each half, but still managed to connect on 4-of-5 from the field and all 14 attempts from the charity stripe. Alex Bradley and all-American Quamain Rose chipped in 10 points apiece, while Brandon Winford pulled down a game-best nine rebounds.
Malik Constantine and Rakeen Brown each tallied a team-best 10 points to pace Catawba who also got nine boards from Jeremy McLaughlin.
The Indians staked claim to a 43-39 advantage on McLaughlin's layup with 13:27 to play, but the Braves traded blows with their South Atlantic Conference foes for the next 3-1/2 minutes before an old-fashioned 3-point play by Brandon Watts sparked the Black & Gold on a 21-4 run that gave it the lead for good. UNCP led by as much as 16 points, 74-58, after Murray-Boyles drained his final free throws of the contest with just more than one minute left.
Both teams struggled to find their touch in the first half with sub-40 percent shooting, but the Indians did manage to grab a five-points lead, 16-11, on two free throws by Jameel Taylor midway through the opening stanza. The lead changed hands twice in the final two minutes before intermission, but two-straight baskets by senior Jihad Wright gave UNCP a 28-25 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
The Braves will hit the road again on Tuesday when they head to Winston-Salem State (0-1) in a 7 p.m. matchup inside the C.E. Gaines Center.
