AUGUSTA, Ga. – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team rallied back from a 26-point deficit in the first half to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Brandon Watts with a minute left, but an old fashioned 3-point play by Ja'Shawn Brooks with 38 seconds remaining gave Augusta the lead for good on the way to a 73-72 win on Saturday afternoon in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
It was the third-straight loss for UNCP (6-7, 0-4 PBC) who fell to 12-39 all-time in the series with their PBC East rivals. The triumph helped Augusta (5-5, 1-2) string together consecutive wins for just the second time this season. The Jaguars have now won four of the last five with the Black & Gold, but Saturday's result marked the third time in the last nine meetings that a matchup was decided by six points or less (26th time overall).
Watts scored 16 of his team-best 22 points in the second half to pace the Braves, who got double-digit scoring from three other players as well. Brandon Winford narrowly missed his 18th career double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while newcomer James Murray-Boyles came off the bench to tally 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Alex Bradley scored 10 points for the visitors as well.
Keshun Sherrill turned in a game-best 26 points to lead Augusta, while Tamyrik Fields registered 17 points and Brooks added 12.
Despite having the hot hand in the first half, the Jaguars shot just 20 percent (2-for-10) from the field and turned the ball over six times in the first 9-1/2 minutes of the second stanza. The Braves took advantage of the lull by the hosts and climbed to within a single possession, 58-56, on a short jumper by Watts with 6:44 remaining.
UNCP had a chance to win the game after forcing a turnover on an inbounds play with 1.7 seconds left, but Bradley's desperation 3-pointer careened off the side of the rim.
The Braves kept it close in the first four minutes of the contest and trailed by just one, 9-8, after a 3-pointer by Watts at the 15:59 mark. Keith Crump's trey on the ensuing possession, however, would spark the hosts on a 31-6 scoring run that eventually gave Augusta a 26-point cushion, 40-14, following a pair of free throws by Sherrill with 4:54 left before the break. The hosts shot 75 percent (9-for-12) from the field and canned all eight of their free throw attempts to fuel the run that spanned more than 11 minutes.
UNCP will close out a season-long four-game road trip on Wednesday when the Braves head to Aiken, S.C., to take on USC Aiken (2-8, 0-3) in the second half of a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader inside the Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
