PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team scored 36 points in the paint and was on the better end of a double-digit disparity in the rebounding column as the Braves exerted their inside dominance over a much taller All-Army squad on the way to an 81-67 exhibition victory over the defending Armed Forces champions on Thursday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
The victory marked the first exhibition win for the Braves since toppling the All Army squad, 100-92, to open the 2015-16 campaign. The Braves will continue exhibition play on November 3 at Creighton, a 2016-17 NCAA Tournament participant, before closing out the preseason portion of their 2017-18 schedule on November 5 at Northern Iowa.
Akia Pruitt paced the Black & Gold with 17 points and 18 rebounds, while senior
Brandon Watts turned in 20 points, including a 9-for-14 clip from the charity stripe.
Nigel Grant and
James Murray-Boyles turned in 12 points apiece as well for the Braves who led for nearly 32 minutes in the contest.
Marquis Becton came off the bench to register 12 points for All Army, while West Point standout Ella Ellis (2009-13) and Derell Henderson chipped in 10. Former UNCP standout Marcus Heath (2009-12), who is a specialist stationed at Fort Bragg, was held to eight points.
All Army trimmed a three-point halftime deficit down to just one, 53-52, after a 3-pointer from Jamaal Thomas at the 11-minute mark, but UNCP scored the game's next seven points to pull away for good. The visitors, again, whittled their deficit down to a lone possession on Becton's lay-in with 7:18 remaining, but Pruitt's driving layup moments later sparked the Braves on a 16-2 run that put the game away.
The hosts led by as much as 18 points, 78-61, after a layup by Pruitt with 42 seconds left.
UNCP led by six points on a pair of free throws by Grant just less than six minutes into the contest, but All Army hung around for the next seven minutes before putting together a 14-0 run that eventually gave them a 32-24 advantage after a 3-pointer from Becton with 4:41 left before the intermission. The Braves countered, however, with a 14-1 run over the next four minutes and never trailed again.
