FLORENCE, S.C. – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team trimmed a 15-point halftime deficit down to just four with a minute left to play, but Francis Marion canned five free throws down the stretch and used a key steal from Warren Specht with 25 seconds left to upset the Braves, 96-92, on Monday evening at the Smith University Center.
 
The setback marked the third-straight loss for the Black & Gold (14-7, 7-5 PBC) who has now dropped consecutive games in the series with the Patriots for the first time since 2010. The Patriots (8-12, 4-8) picked up their fifth win in Florence this season with the result, and have now won two of their last three outings. The teams will meet again in Pembroke on February 22.
 
Freshman Akia Pruitt scored a career-best 24 points and pulled down 11 boards to cash in on his fourth double-double of the season for the Braves who shot just 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the free throw line in the outing. James Murray-Boyles came off the bench to add 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the visitors as well.
 
Detrek Browning turned in a game-best 24 points for the hosts despite shooting just 7-of-20 from the field in the outing, while Specht came off the bench to tally 22 points in 28 minutes of action. Judah Alexander recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and a dozen rebounds.
 
UNCP whittled its sizeable halftime deficit down to just seven on a pair of occasions in the opening 11 minutes of the latter stanza but, both times, Francis Marion was able to extend its lead back out to 13 or more. An old-fashioned 3-pointer by Pruitt with 3:13 to play ignited UNCP on a 10-1 run that helped the visitors climb to within 91-87 on another free throw by Pruitt with 62 ticks left.
 
Murray-Boyles made good on a 3-pointer with just nine seconds left that made the score 92-89, but Browning hit the front end of a two-shot foul on the other end of the floor to seal the victory.
 
The game went back and forth in the first 11-1/2 minutes of action by evidence of four lead changes and five tie scores, but Alexander's layup with 8:22 left before the break sparked the Patriots on an 18-2 run that eventually gave the hosts a 56-41 advantage heading into the locker rooms. The Braves shots just 25 percent (4-for-16) over the last eight minutes of the opening stanza to fuel the run.
 
UNCP will return home again on Wednesday to lock horns with PBC East Division foe Flagler (9-10, 3-9) on Military Appreciation Night at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.