GREENWOOD, S.C. – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team went back and forth with Lander for much of the game's first 34 minutes, but Alex Bradley's 3-pointer with 6:02 left to play gave the Braves the lead for good on the way to a 78-77 victory over the Peach Belt Conference East Division leader on Wednesday evening.

The triumph marked the third win in the last four outings for UNCP (13-11, 7-8 PBC) who climbed into a tie for fourth place with Francis Marion in the PBC East standings. It was the third-straight loss for the Lander (16-8, 10-5) who has now dropped 10 of the last 15 series matchups with the Braves. It is the 13th time in the 24-year history of the series that the squads have split the regular season matchups (Lander won 62-59 on December 5 in Pembroke).

Alex Bradley registered a career-high point total for the second time in four games, this time pouring in a game-best 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 5-for-7 success rate from the perimeter. Brandon Watts tallied 15 points for the Black & Gold as well, while freshman James Murray-Boyles came off the bench to add a dozen.

J.R. Washington turned in 24 points to lead Lander who canned nine 3-pointers and shot 51 percent from the field on the night. Travis Fredimon added 17 points for the hosts as well.

Wednesday's contest featured 20 lead changes and 11 tie scores.

Neither side was able to grab more than a four-point edge through the first 14 minutes of the second half until Bradley's 3-pointer with 5:31 remaining ignited UNCP on a game-changing 9-2 run that would eventually give it a 70-73 advantage on Bradley's layup at the 3:02 mark. After Bradley missed both ends of a two-shot foul with 13 seconds left, Washington drained a 3-pointer at the other end of the court to pull the Bearcats to within two, 76-74, but Bradley redeemed himself five seconds later by sinking two free throws.

The first half saw six tie scores and 14 lead changes through the first 13 minutes of action, but Lander put together a late 10-2 run and took a 36-28 lead on Rahu Purdie's 3-pointer with 2:08 left before the break. The Braves got consecutive baskets from Watts and Jihad Wright around the 1:00 mark to cut their deficit to just three, 38-35, heading into the locker rooms.

The Black & Gold will open up a two-game homestand on Saturday when it returns to Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court to host a key league tilt with Armstrong State (10-12, 8-7). Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.