PEMBROKE – Freshman Akia Pruitt scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team led for nearly 38 minutes in easing past Clayton State, 81-74, in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The Braves (7-2, 1-0 PBC) improved to 10-15 all-time in PBC openers, while also snapping a three-game series losing streak with the result as well. The Lakers have now dropped three of their last five outings, and fell to 1-3 away from home this season with the setback.
 
Pruitt scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, and finished the day with a game-best six rebounds and four blocks, including two swats in the game's opening 93 seconds. Alex Bradley fueled a 16-point, 5-assist effort with a perfect 8-for-8 clip from the charity stripe, while Nigel Grant added 11 points on 4-of-9 field goal shooting.
 
Alfonso Davis tacked up a double-double with 10 boards and a game-best 20 points for Clayton State who tallied 17 second chance points on 16 rebounds in the outing. Jaumonee Byrd added a double-double as well with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Braves pushed an 11-point halftime lead out to a baker's dozen, 47-34, after two free throws by Andrew Evans with 16:37 to play, but the Lakers slowly whittled away at their deficit and eventually made it a two-point game with just less than six minutes left. The Black & Gold would counter with a 13-4 run over the next 3-1/2 minutes to put the game away, however.
 
Neither team was able to get an edge through the first four minutes of the opening half, but a short jumper by Bradley at the 16:14 mark sparked the hosts on a 12-2 run to give them a double-digit lead. The Lakers flirted with a rally on a pair of occasions over the next five minutes, but the Braves eventually took a 39-28 advantage into the locker rooms.
 
The Braves will play their final road game of the calendar year on Monday when they make the long trip to Americus, Ga., to battle PBC West rival Georgia Southwestern (3-5, 1-0) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the Storm Dome.