ATHENS, W.Va. – The UNC Pembroke football team registered a season-best 454 yards of total offense, including 250 in the second half, but home-standing Concord forced a trio of ill-timed turnovers and stuffed three fourth down conversions to key a 31-22 victory over the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Callaghan Stadium.
 
The setback marked the fifth-straight loss for UNCP (1-6) who will wrap up the home portion of its 2017 schedule with a Homecoming contest against Lenoir-Rhyne (3-4) on October 28 at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. The triumph snapped a four-game skid for the Mountain Lions (2-6) who improved to 2-3 at home with the result.
 
Dominick Samson completed passes to eight different receivers and threw for 283 yards on 24-of-35 passing with two interceptions for UNCP, while Miles Grant rushed for 71 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts. Quay Threatt hauled in five passes for 76 yards and a third-quarter touchdown as well.
 
Cameron Williams turned in six solo stops (two tackles for loss), a forced fumble and a pass break-up to pace Code Black, who also got six tackles from Alpha Lamin. Tyler Hinton posted his seventh sack of the season to climb to within one quarterback drop of matching the program's all-time record.
 
The Braves converted a turnover into points and scored on their opening possession of the contest thanks to a 27-yard touchdown run by Josh Sheridan, but the Mountain Lions took the lead a short time later when they put together a 68-yard touchdown drive (and ensuing 2-point conversion) after stopping the Black & Gold on a 4^th-and-4 attempt at the 35-yard line.
 
The lead swung back in UNCP's favor midway through the second quarter when Grant capped off a 6-play, 79-yard scoring drive on an 11-yard scoring scamper, but the Mountain Lions used a 77-yard touchdown run by Jamal Petty on the ensuing play from scrimmage, as well as a 62-yard interception return by Jonathan Roebuck four minutes later, to lug a 25-15 advantage into the intermission.
 
UNCP had a chance to cut into its deficit right before the break, but Concord batted down pass on a 4^th-and-3 conversion at the 35-yard line by the Braves with just more than a minute left to preserve the 10-point lead.
 
The Braves pulled to within a field goal after Dom Samson found Threatt on a 29-yard scoring strike just more than three minutes into the third quarter, but that would signal the end of the scoring on the day for the visitors. Zack Keaton converted on a 38-yard field goal attempt to make it a 28-22 game after the ensuing possession, and then added a 28-yarder with three minutes left in the contest to seal the outcome.
 
Prior to Keaton's game-clinching field goal late in the fourth quarter, UNCP had strung together a 10-play, 61-yard drive, but was unable to convert a 4^th-and-5 attempt from the Mountain Lions' 35-yard line.