WINGATE – Kerigan Farley hit the back end of a two-shot foul with eight seconds left and then grabbed a steal on the ensuing inbounds play to help Wingate stretch its home win streak out to 11 games with a 71-68 upset victory over the 20^th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team on Wednesday evening in Cuddy Arena.
 
The setback marked the first setback of the season for the Braves (2-1) who will now get a six-day hiatus from competition before opening up a two-game home stand on Tuesday against Barton. The triumph marked the 15^th victory in the last 18 home openers for Wingate (2-1) who has now won three-straight at home in the series with the Black & Gold.
 
Akia Pruitt scored a game-best 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Braves who were on the wrong end of a 23-15 disparity in the fouls column, including a lopsided 11-4 foul count in the first half. Nigel Grant went 8-of-9 from the free throw line on the way to a 14-point night for the visitors, while Brandon Watts added 11. Sophomore Micah Kinsey finished the outing with seven points, five rebounds four assists and four steals as well.
 
Neico Robinson came off the bench to register 18 points for Wingate who canned 25 of its 30 attempts from the charity stripe on the night to fuel the outcome as well. Farley went 10-for-12 from the free throw line and finished with 14 points.
 
The Bulldogs led by as many as 11 points, 61-50, after a 3-pointer from Marco Haskins with 5:58 to play, but UNCP steadily chipped away at its deficit and got to within one point, 65-64, on a layup from Watts just more than four minutes later. Farley put the hosts up by three on a layup with 35 seconds left, but freshman David Strother, again, brought the Braves back to within a point when he connected on a pair of free throws on the other end of the court.
 
After Farley gave the Bulldogs a 70-68 advantage on his free throw with eight seconds left, he got the benefit of the doubt from the officials on a spar with Watts that jostled the ball loose from the UNCP senior and called a timeout to all but ice the outcome. Emario Logan hit the back end of a two-shot foul moments later to provide the final.
 
Offense came at a premium in the opening half as both teams combined for just 27 points and 26.8 percent (11-for-41) shooting through the first 12+ minutes. The Braves used a driving layup by Pruitt to take a 22-19 lead at the 4:19 mark, but the Bulldogs closed out the period with a 15-5 run to tote a 34-27 lead into the locker rooms.
 
Personal fouls proved to be the difference in the first half as Wingate registered 10 points (12 attempts) from the free throw line, while UNCP posted just two points (three attempts) from the charity stripe.
 
The Black & Gold will be back in action again on November 21 when it opens up a two-game home stand against Barton (0-3) at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.