PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's and women's basketball teams will wrap up their longest road trip of the season on Wednesday when the Braves head to southwest South Carolina to take on USC Aiken in a key Peach Belt Conference doubleheader inside USCA's Convocation Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
Fans unable to make the trip to Aiken can follow the games for free via a live audio stream on the UNCP Sports Network with Matt Sabados handling the play-by-play duties. Both matchups can also be followed via live video and statistics links provided by USCA.

 

UNC Pembroke Women (5-8, 3-6 PBC) at USC Aiken (3-12, 0-9 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Wednesday, January 17 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Location	Aiken, S.C. | Convocation Center
Live Statistics	SIDEARM SPORTS
Audio	UNCP Sports Network
Video	Pacer Athletics On YouTube
Peach Belt Conference	Women's Basketball

WOMEN'S NOTES

• The Lady Braves (5-8, 3-6 PBC) have won two of their last three overall after a 73-60 victory over Georgia Southwestern on Monday in the second game of the current road trip. Four Braves poured in double-digit points in the win to complete the season sweep of the Hurricanes. UNCP shot a season-best 46.2 percent from the field in the triumph.
• Monday's victory was the first away from home for the Black & Gold, who scored at least 60 points on the road for the first time this season. Prior to Monday, UNCP's six-highest scoring games had come at home and its six-lowest scoring outings had come away from Pembroke.
• Monday was the third time this season in which at least four Braves have scored at least 10 points each in a game, but the first since a Dec. 17 setback to Columbus State. Five UNCP players logged double-digits in an 88-74 win over Mount Olive on Nov. 17. 
• Senior Brandi Robinson scored a career-high 14 points and also set a career mark with 11 rebounds in the win against Georgia Southwestern on Monday and the Charlotte native now has at least 10 points in three-straight games and four of the last six overall.
• Nyla Allen leads all Braves with 13.2 points per game and has logged double-digit scoring performances in nine-straight games and 10 of UNCP's 13 outings this season. The senior ranks ninth in the league in scoring and seventh in points per game in league play.
• UNCP and USC Aiken have met five 53 times since the Braves joined the PBC prior to the 1992-93 season with the Pacers holding a 38-15 lead in the series. A UNCP win last season in Pembroke snapped a six-game winning streak in the series for USC Aiken and the Pacers have claimed 17 of the 21 meetings since 2008. The Braves are just 4-21 all-time in Aiken, with the last UNCP road victory in the series coming Jan. 24, 2007. That is the lone Black & Gold victory in Aiken since the turn of the century.

ABOUT USC AIKEN

• The Pacers (3-12, 0-9 PBC) have dropped 10-straight games dating back to Nov. 28, including a 69-45 setback to Georgia College on Monday. USC Aiken fell behind 15-2 early in the first quarter and did not draw closer than eight points the rest of the way. USC Aiken shot just 27.8 percent from the field, while allowing the Bobcats to connect at a 47.2-percent clip overall.
• USC Aiken's average margin of defeat in its 10-game skid is 16.3 points and that number inflates to 18.9 points in its last eight losses. The Pacers' lone home victory this season came Nov. 22 in a 79-56 drubbing of Winston-Salem State. 
• The Pacers are the lone winless team in PBC play this season and rank last in the league in points per game with 59.3. USC Aiken sits in the bottom third of the conference in field goals made per game (20.9), field goal attempts per game (56.8), field goal percentage (36.7), 3-point shooting percentage (27.5), free throw percentage (61.1), rebounds per game (38.7), turnovers per game (21.2) and points allowed per game (71.0).
• Sophomore Emily Waters is averaging a team-best 12.9 points per game and has scored at least 10 points in the last nine-straight games and 12 of USC Aiken's 15 games overall. Junior Star Toomey grabs a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game and has one double-double this season with 11 boards and 11 points against Columbus State on Dec. 30.
• Wednesday's contest with the Braves is USC Aiken's first home game since Jan. 6 and snaps a three-game road trip. The Pacers are 1-6 at home this season after compiling an 8-5 record at the Convocation Center last season.

 

UNC Pembroke Men (12-3, 8-1 PBC) at USC Aiken (9-4, 6-3 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Wednesday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Location	Aiken, S.C. | Convocation Center
Live Statistics	SIDEARM SPORTS
Audio	UNCP Sports Network
Video	Pacer Athletics On YouTube
Peach Belt Conference	Men's Basketball

 
 
MEN'S NOTES

• The Braves (12-3, 8-1 PBC) pushed their win streak out to seven games with a 78-57 win at Georgia Southwestern on Monday afternoon. The victory, coupled with UNCP's 83-71 home win over the Hurricanes on December 19, finished off a season sweep of Georgia Southwestern for the Black & Gold.
• UNCP is sporting its best 15-game start since the 1990-91 squad won 13 of its first 15 games. That team won 22 of its first 24 games before picking up its third loss of the campaign against UNC Greensboro. The 2010-11 and 2016-17 versions of the Black & Gold both opened their seasons with 11 wins in their first 15 outings.
• UNCP has now won 10-straight road games against Peach Belt Conference opponents dating back to 77-72 win at Augusta on Feb. 4, 2017. The stretch includes a PBC tournament semifinal victory over Lander, as well as six consecutive victories against teams from the state of Georgia.
• The Braves have held six of their last eight opponents to sub-40 percent shooting, and have accomplished that feat in each of their last four outings. The Black & Gold boasts the Peach Belt Conference's best field goal defense (39.3 percent), while also sporting a PBC-best 6.9 blocks per game and 8.1 steals an outing (3^rd PBC).
• Senior Brandon Watts has been the workhorse for the Black & Gold over its seven-game win streak, averaging a team-best 17.9 points per game, while also connecting on better than 50 percent (44-for-87) of his field goal attempts. Nigel Grant has registered 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds over that stretch, while James Murray-Boyles has come off the bench in six of those outings, but has still managed a 13.0 points per game average.
• The Braves are just 19-33 all-time against USC Aiken in a series that dates all the way back to the 1990-91 campaign, but have captured four of the last six against the Pacers. Thirteen of the previous 52 matchups have been decided by five points or less, including each of the last two series meetings. The Pacers registered an 83-81 win over the Braves at home on Jan. 21, 2017, while the Black & Gold returned the favor 2-1/2 weeks later with a 77-72 win in Pembroke on February 8. UNCP is 8-19 on the road in the series, but the teams have split the last eight meetings in the Convocation Center.
• In the midst of his 10th season at the helm of the Black & Gold in 2017-18, Ben Miller needs just six more 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 163-118 (.580) record in 9+ seasons as head coach.
  
  ABOUT USC AIKEN
• The Pacers (9-4, 6-3 PBC) stretched their win streak out to three games with an 84-75 victory at Georgia College on Monday afternoon. That victory kept USC Aiken's perfect in six road games this season. The last three losses for the Pacers have come by a combined eight points.
• USC Aiken ranks among the PBC's top three teams in eight statistical categories, and boast the league's top free throw-shooting (72.3 percent) team heading into Wednesday's matchup. The Pacers sport the league's second-best scoring offense (81.2 points/game), and also boast the PBC's third-best scoring defense (73.3 opponent points/game).
• Junior college transfer Doniel Dean has tallied a team-best 16.8 points per game on 49 percent shooting this season, and leads a quartet of Pacers with double-digit scoring averages in 2017-18. Senior Henry Bolton is USC Aiken's top long-range threat this season is averaging 42.3 percent perimeter shooting and 2.3 made 3-pointers per game this season.
• The Pacers are 72-18 (.800) inside the Convocation Center since the close of the 2010-11 season, including a 41-15 (.732) mark against league opponents. That stretch includes a 2015-16 campaign that saw USC Aiken register a 5-8 record at home.