WINGATE – Wingate used a 16-5 run midway through the second half to storm ahead for good and used a stifling defense to limit the 20th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team to a season-low offensive output en route to a 66-54 win over the Braves on Tuesday evening at Cuddy Arena.

The setback snapped a five-game win streak for UNCP (5-2) who was held to its fewest points since a 71-45 loss at Wingate on Nov. 20, 2012. The triumph helped the Bulldogs (4-1) improve to 2-0 at home this season.

Keysheen Hinton came off the bench to score a team-best 10 points for the Braves who shot just 29.5 percent from the field on the night, including a 27.3 percent effort in the second half. Alex Bradley, Tyler Kordenbrock and Jihad Wright each chipped in nine points for the visitors as well.

Mike Baez scored a game-best 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting to pace the Bulldogs, who also got a dozen points from Xavier Griffin. Keith Griffin came off the bench to log a game-best 10 boards for the hosts as well.

Hinton's layup at the 15:08 mark in the second half gave the game its fifth tie score, but Baez's 3-pointer nearly 90 seconds later ignited the Bulldogs on a game-changing 16-5 run that eventually gave the Bulldogs a 50-39 advantage with 6-1/2 minutes remaining. Wingate led by as much as 13 points, 54-41, following Zeriq Lolar's tip-in with 5:20 left.

Kordenbock scored five-straight points to give the visitors a 19-14 edge with five minutes left before the intermission, but Wingate put up seven-straight points to knot the game back up with just more than a minute left until halftime. Buckets by Wright and Hinton in the final 46 seconds would allow the Black & Gold to haul a 28-25 lead into the locker rooms.

The Braves will open up a three-game home stand on Saturday when they suit up to host Lander (5-2, 0-0 PBC) in the back half of a 1 p.m. Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The contest will mark the PBC opener for both squads.