PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team put together a 13-2 run in the second half to dig itself out of an early hole, but 52 percent shooting from the free throw line hindered the Braves late in a 66-62 loss to the Jaguars on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

It was the third-straight loss for the Braves (10-10, 4-7 PBC) who have now lost three-straight games in the series with their Peach Belt Conference rival as well. The result was the eighth win in the last 10 contests for Augusta (11-7, 7-4) who finished off a regular season sweep of the Braves as well.

Brandon Watts scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Braves who shot just 26.1 (6-for-23) percent from the field in the opening half. Brandon Winford tallied 12 points and just missed his 20th career double-double with nine rebounds, while Jihad Wright tallied eight points and eight boards in his second start of the season.

Keshun Sherrill, Keith Crump and Aaron Byrd all scored a team-best 11 points for the visitors who won despite a dismal 28.1 percent shooting effort in the second half. Tommy Williams registered seven points and a game-best 10 rebounds for the Jaguars as well.

A driving layup by Watts just 21 seconds into the second half sparked the Braves on a momentum-changing 13-2 run that would eventually give the hosts a 37-35 edge after a free throw by Watts more than four minutes later. The Black & Gold went up by as much as seven points with 8:01 left to play, but Augusta turned the tide by scoring the game's next 10 points. Winford's layup at the 1:06 mark gave the Braves a 62-61 advantage, but the visitors scored the game's final five points to provide the final.

Augusta led by as much as 13 points, 22-9, after a running jumper by Tamyrik Fields with 6:32 left before the intermission. That early run was aided by a slow start by the Braves that saw them turn the ball over four times and shoot just 1-for-12 from the field in the first eight minutes of the contest.

The Braves will hit the road again on Saturday when they make the long trek to St. Augustine, Fla., for a key inter-divisional matchup against Flagler (6-13, 2-9). Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.