MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Tazz Marbury's 3-pointer with 14:22 to play helped Montevallo stake claim to a 59-47 lead, but the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team shot 69 percent from the field in the second half and used a pair of late scoring spurts to upend the Falcons, 92-83, on Monday evening inside Trustmark Arena.
It was the second-straight series road victory for the Braves (11-4, 4-2 PBC) who improved to 6-2 away from Pembroke this season. Montevallo (9-3, 3-2), who had a six-game win streak snapped with a loss at Augusta on Saturday, had its three-game home winning skein stopped with Monday's loss.
Brandon Watts registered a team-best 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting for the Braves who connected on eight of their last nine shots from the field to ice the result.
Nigel Grant added 20 points and seven rebounds, while
Alex Bradley finished with 16 points and four assists.
Jamaar Taylor scored a career high 32 points to lead the Falcons, but Javonte Douglas poured in 28 points of his own in the losing effort as well.
An old-fashioned 3-point play by Watts just 26 seconds into the second stanza trimmed a seven-point halftime deficit down to four, but Montevallo pushed its lead out to double digits, 56-45, just more than four minutes later and led by a dozen points on Marbury's triple. UNCP put together a 16-5 run and pulled to within two points on a layup from Watts at the 10:52 mark.
A pair of free throws by Watts 29 seconds later signaled the start of a 22-8 run that all but wrapped up the key road victory for the Black & Gold.
Neither team was able to set the pace for the first 13 minutes of the opening half, but Montevallo's 15-2 run later in the period allowed the Falcons to take a 36-27 advantage with a little more than four minutes left before the break. Watts made it a one-point game on a 3-pointer at the 1:57 mark, but Montevallo scored the last six points to take a 42-35 lead into the locker rooms.
The Braves will open up a three-game home stand on Saturday when they suit up to take on PBC East-leading Young Harris (10-3, 4-0) in the second half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader on Robeson County Schools Day at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
