DURHAM – The UNC Pembroke football team out-gained Shaw 190-16 in the third quarter alone and used a key momentum burst in the period to help the Braves power past the Bears, 38-19, on Saturday afternoon at Durham County Stadium.
 
The victory helped the Braves (3-0) stay perfect in two games away from home this season, while also giving UNCP a 3-1 lead in the all-time series with the Bears. It was the second home loss of the season for Shaw (0-3) who will travel to red-hot Bowie State next weekend.
 
All-American B.J. Bunn registered his fourth career 100-yard receiving game, this time hauling in six passes for 109 yards and a clutch third quarter touchdown. Cliff Jones (14 rushes, 64 yards) led the Black & Gold ground game in the contest, while backfield mate Rontonio Stanley (12-56) found the end zone as well. Rick Mack caught five passes for 67 yards and tallied his first collegiate touchdown reception.
 
It was business as usual for Code Black who held its third-straight opponent under the 100-yard passing plateau, while also recording 13 tackles for loss.  Tyler Hinton totaled a team-best six tackles (2 solo), while Alpha Lamin tallied a career-best 1-1/2 sacks. Shawn Everett and Tre'von Gibson both had interceptions for UNCP as well.
 
Shaw scratched the scoreboard first after a 72-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Darron Downing with just less than five minutes gone in the opening period, but the Braves answered back with 10-straight points, including a 7-yard dive by Cliff Jones with 9:41 left before the intermission that gave the Black & Gold a 10-7 advantage. Downing would give the lead back to the Bears seven minutes later, however, when he juked the defense and scampered into the end zone untouched from 12 yards out.
 
The fortunes would turn for the Bears in the third quarter, however. Shaw fumbled the ball away on just its second offensive play of the half, and UNCP answered a short time later with Patrick O'Brien's 48-yard scoring strike to Bunn down the far sideline. The Bears gave the ball back to the Braves after fumbling again on their next offensive play and, thanks to a sideline penalty, drove a short field in just four plays to make the score 24-13 with just 88 seconds gone in the second half.
 
Stanley's 1-yard plunge with 5:51 left in the third quarter would cap an 8-play, 78-yard scoring drive that put the game out of reach. That play was set up by an acrobatic catch by Bunn at that checked in at No. 9 on the ESPN Sportscenter Top 10.
 
The Braves will return home again on Saturday when they suit up to battle North Greenville (2-0) in a 7 p.m. tilt at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. The contest with highlight Parents & Families Weekend for UNCP.