COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State shot better than 49 percent from the field, including an 11-for-22 success rate from the perimeter, and used big runs in each half to upend the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team, 82-69, on Thursday evening in the Frank G. Lumpkin Center.

It was the fourth loss in the last five outings for the Braves (6-5, 0-2 PBC) who had their two-game series win streak snapped with the result. Columbus State (7-1, 1-0) is now 14-2 all-time against the Braves at home.

Brandon Watts scored a game-best 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds and a trio of assists to pace the Braves who also got double-digit scoring from three other players. Brandon Winford tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, while Giavonni Mack chipped in a dozen points and Alex Bradley added 10.

Cam Baker and Darren Daniel each registered a team-best 16 points for Columbus State, who also got 15 points apiece from JaCori Payne and Brent Jackson. Daniel (3-for-5) and Payne (4-for-5) combined to shoot 70 percent from the perimeter on the night as well.

The Cougars had stretched a 13-point halftime lead out to 20 points, 53-33, just less than six minutes into the second period, and led by as much as 27 points, 81-54, after a pair of free throws from Baker with 2:50 left to play. The Braves closed out the contest with a 15-1 run to provide the final.

Columbus State scored 18 of the game's first 26 points to stake claim to an early double-digit lead, but the Black & Gold responded with 10-straight points and knotted the game back up on a short jumper by Watts at the 10:58 mark. Payne's 3-pointer with 7:07 left before the break would spark the Cougars on a 14-2 run that eventually helped CSU lug a 42-29 advantage into the locker rooms.

The Braves will continue a four-game road trip on Saturday when they head to Milledgeville, Ga., to lock horns with red hot Georgia College (8-2, 1-0) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the Centennial Center.