PEMBROKE – The 21^st-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team whittled a 15-point second half deficit down to just two with 1:53 left to play, but Micah Kinsey's potential game-tying jumper with four seconds left caught the front iron to help seal a 70-67 victory for visiting Columbus State on Sunday afternoon.
 
The setback snapped an 11-game win streak against Peach Belt Conference opponents for the Braves (5-3, 1-1 PBC), who also had their eight-game home win streak halted as well. It was the second-straight victory for the Cougars (2-3, 2-0) who opened up the current campaign with three-straight losses.
 
Senior Nigel Grant registered 16 points and a career-best 13 rebounds to notch his sixth career double-double for the Black & Gold, while frontcourt mate Akia Pruitt turned in 14 points, eight boards and four blocks. Lumberton native David Strother finished his day with eight points, six rebounds and a quartet of assists.
 
JaCori Payne turned in a game-best 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the Cougars, while Marcus Dixon recorded a loud double-double with 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
 
The Cougars strung together a technical foul-aided 7-0 run to eventually take a 57-42 lead on Jamal McKee's layup at the 11:41 mark, but the Braves shot 50 percent from the field over the game's next 10 minute to pull to within a single possession, on a jumper by Pruitt with just less than two minutes left. Strother grabbed a rebound off of a missed 3-pointer by Darius Joell with 17 ticks left, but Kinsey's 19-foot jumper fell just short of sending the game into overtime.
 
Neither team was able to find an edge in a low-scoring first half. The hosts led by six points, 23-17, after a pair of free throws from James Murray-Boyles with 6:33 left before the intermission, but the Cougars would forge a four-point lead, 31-27, just less than five minutes later and eventually lug a 33-31 advantage into the locker rooms. The opening period featured four tie scores and five lead changes.
 
The Braves will get a short rest before closing out a two-game home stand on Tuesday morning in the front end of an Education Day doubleheader against Georgia Southwestern (4-1, 0-1). Tipoff is slated for 10 a.m.