PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's and women's basketball teams will return from their long winter's naps on Saturday when the Braves load up the bus and head to Dahlonega, Ga., to battle North Georgia in a 1:30 p.m. Peach Belt Conference doubleheader inside UNG's Memorial Hall.
 
Fans unable to make the trip to Georgia can follow the game for free via a live audio stream on the UNCP Sports Network with Trevor Williams handling the play-by-play duties. The game can also be followed via live statistics and video links provided by North Georgia.

 

UNC Pembroke Women (3-4, 1-2 PBC) at North Georgia (7-2, 2-1 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Saturday, December 30 at 1:30 p.m. ET
Location	Dahlonega, Ga. | Memorial Hall
Live Statistics	SIDEARM SPORTS
Audio	UNCP Sports Network
Video	Nighthawk Sports Network
Peach Belt Conference	Women's Basketball

WOMEN'S NOTES

• The Lady Braves (3-4, 1-2 PBC) picked up their first PBC win in their last time out on Dec. 19. UNCP bested visiting Georgia Southwestern 71-60 behind a career-high 22 points from senior Nyla Allen and a 53-35 advantage on the glass. The Hurricanes never closed the deficit to under seven after the 8-minute mark of the second quarter.
• Allen leads all Braves with 11.0 points per game though the first seven contests and her scoring average improves to 17.3 in the last three games, including two 20+ point outings. Allen is also averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game and the senior has two double-doubles this season.
• Freshman Melanie Horne chips in 9.5 points per outing, while newcomers Tee Graham and Aliyah Farmer pour in 8.9 and 8.4 per game, respectively. Horne's 6.3 boards per contest ranks second on the Black & Gold, while Farmer's 51.2-percent shooting clip leads the squad. Graham dishes out a team-best 3.3 assists per game and Alecia Hardy is averaging an even 3.0 dimes.
• Famer's field-goal percentage ranks ninth in the PBC, her 86.7-percent clip from the charity stripe ranks 10th in the league and she slots fourth in the conference with 3.6 offensive rebounds per game. Allen grabs 4.7 boards on the defensive end per outing to tie for eighth in the PBC.
• UNCP leads the PBC 3-pointers attempted per game (23.9) and slots second in the league in 3-pointers made per game (7.6). The Braves sit third in the conference in free-throw percentage (71.3) and offensive rebounds per game (16.4).
• UNCP and North Georgia have met five 17 times in series history that dates back to the first meeting in 2015, with the Braves holding a slim 9-8 edge overall. North Georgia has won six of the eight meetings in Dahlonega and the last Braves' win on the road in the series came Jan. 12, 2012 in a 65-56 affair.
• Head coach John Haskins needs just one more victory to reach the 275-win mark for his career, which has spanned 23+ years across both men's and women's basketball at UNC Pembroke. Haskins has compiled a 274-357 (.434) record overall, including a 169-194 (.466) mark at the helm of the women's program since 2004-05.

ABOUT NORTH GEORGIA

• North Georgia (7-2, 2-1 PBC) knocked off Augusta in its last time out, a 91-81 victory on Dec. 19. Nine different Nighthawks put their name in the scoring column and North Georgia shot 50 percent from the field in its second league win of the season.
• The Nighthawks have eclipsed the 90-point mark three times in the first nine games of the season, including a season-high 94 points in a 94-37 victory over Fort Valley State on Nov. 14. North Georgia dropped a 94-90 game to Carson-Newman on Nov. 17.
• The Nighthawks lead the PBC in five team categories, including a league-best 60.8 points per game allowed. North Georgia also leads the league in field goals made per game (29.9), assists per game (19.1), opponents' field goal percentage (32.4) and opponents' 3-point percentage (25.4).
• Three Nighthawks score double-digit points per game, led by 15.4 from Mackenzie Darrah. Amber Skidgel adds 14.7 points per outing, while Deana Blakinship chips in 12.2 per contest. Darrah and Skidgel rank eighth and ninth in the league in scoring, respectively. Blankinship leads the team and ranks second in the PBC with a 62.7 field goal percentage and also grabs a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game.
• Saturday's contest with the Braves is the first home contest for North Georgia since Dec. 2, as the Nighthawks are in the midst of a stretch that sees them play five of six games away from home. North Georgia is 3-1 at home this season after a 12-3 mark at Memorial Hall last season.

 

UNC Pembroke Men (6-3, 2-1 PBC) at North Georgia (3-6, 1-2 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Saturday, December 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Location	Dahlonega, Ga. | Memorial Hall
Live Statistics	SIDEARM SPORTS
Audio	UNCP Sports Network
Video	Nighthawk Sports Network
Peach Belt Conference	Men's Basketball

 
 
MEN'S NOTES

• The Braves (6-3, 2-1 PBC) snapped a two-game losing streak with an 83-71 home victory over Georgia Southwestern on December 19. UNCP drained a season-best 13 3-pointers in that contest, and shot better than 48 percent from the field.
• UNCP will ride a five-game win streak in Peach Belt Conference road games into Saturday's contest, and has won three-straight games in the state of Georgia dating back to a 77-72 win over Augusta in February.
• Freshman David Strother has averaged a team-best 15.3 points over the last three games, and has shot an impressive 42.9 percent from the perimeter over that stretch as well. Senior Brandon Watts has canned three or more 3-pointers in three of the last four outings for the Black & Gold and is shooting 45.8 percent from downtown over that span.
• The Braves boast the Peach Belt Conference's second-best scoring offense (80.0 points/game), while also sporting the league's third-best scoring defense (72.9 points allowed/game). UNCP has held its first nine opponents to just 41.1 percent shooting, and has held its last two opponents under that threshold.
• UNCP has out-rebounded 83 of its last 105 opponents, and have accomplished that task in seven of its nine games this season. Over that 105-game stretch, the Braves have out-rebounded opponents by 10 or more boards on 32 occasions as well.
• In the midst of his 10th season at the helm of the Black & Gold in 2017-18, Ben Miller needs just 12 wins to match former Pembroke State legend Lacey Gane (1965-75) atop the program's all-time wins list. Miller has led the Braves to a 156-118 (.570) record in 9+ seasons as head coach. He will coach his 275^th career game on Saturday in Dahlonega.
• The Braves are just 8-9 all-time against North Georgia in a series that dates back to the 2005-06 season, but has captured the last three against the Nighthawks, including a pair of wins last season. The Black & Gold is just 3-5 all-time in Memorial Hall, but has picked up wins in two of its last three trips to Dahlonega.
  
  ABOUT NORTH GEORGIA
• The Nighthawks (3-6, 1-2 PBC) have dropped four of their last five contests heading into Saturday's matchup with the Braves. North Georgia snapped a four-game skid with a 74-64 road victory over Flagler on December 16, but fell on the road to Augusta, 86-72, three days later.
• North Georgia boasts the league's third-best scoring offense (79.2 points/game), but has allowed a PBC-worst 82.1 points an outing in 2017-18, and has allowed five of its nine opponents this season to score 86 or more points. The Nighthawks are -1.78 in turnover margin this season – a number which ranks 11^th among the PBC's 12 basketball-playing institutions.
• Three Nighthawks sport double-digit scoring averages this season, including senior Shaquan Cantrell who ranks fifth among PBC leaders with an 18.0 points per game scoring average. Cantrell has scored 20 or more points on three occasions this season, including a 21-point outing in a loss to then-No. 2 Queens back in early November.
• North Georgia is just 24-29 in Memorial Hall over the last 4+ seasons, and has captured just three of its last 13 home games heading into the weekend. The Nighthawks were 3-12 inside Memorial Hall last season.