PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's and women's basketball teams will open up a short two-game road trip on Wednesday when the Braves pack up their show and head to Florence, S.C., to lock horns with Francis Marion inside the Smith University Center. Tipoff for the women's game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., with the men scheduled to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
 
Fans unable to make the trip to Florence can follow the games for free via live audio streams on the UNCP Sports Network with Matt Sabados and Trevor Williams handling the play-by-play duties. Both matchups can also be followed via live video and statistics links provided by FMU.

 

UNC Pembroke Women (6-9, 4-7 PBC) at Francis Marion (11-5, 8-3 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Wednesday, January 24 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Location	Florence, S.C. | Smith University Center
Live Statistics	Presto Sports
Audio	UNCP Sports Network
Video	FMU Patriots on YouTube
Peach Belt Conference	Women's Basketball

WOMEN'S NOTES

• The Lady Braves (6-9, 4-7 PBC) knocked down 12 of their last 17 shots on Saturday afternoon against Clayton State, but the Lakers used a 3-pointer with 37 seconds to play to take the lead for good and escape Pembroke with a 71-69 victory. Senior Nyla Allen scored a game-high 22 points, which was just one off her career high, and set career bests in free throws made (8) and free throws attempted (10).
• At the halfway mark of the PBC slate, the Black & Gold finds itself in a tie for eighth place in the league race. The top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament after all 22 PBC games have been played. Of the Braves' 11 remaining games, only three are against teams tied or below them in the standings, while eight are against teams in spots one through seven in the league race.
• After beginning the season 0-6 away from home, UNCP has won its last two tilts on the road against Georgia Southwestern (Jan. 15) and USC Aiken (Jan. 17). The Braves averaged 53.5 points per game in the first six setbacks, but have scored 66..5 points per game in the last two road victories.
• UNCP has held five of its last seven opponents under 38-percent shooting overall and four of the last seven under 25 percent from behind the arc. The Braves are 0-6 this season when scoring 59 points or less and 4-1 when scoring at least 71 points.
• Allen leads all Braves at 13.9 points per game, which ranks seventh in the league. She has logged 11-straight double-digit scoring performances and scored at least 10 points in 12 of the 15 games this season. Allen has hauled in at least eight rebounds in five of the last six outings and leads all Braves with 6.7 boards per game this season.
• UNCP and Francis Marion have met five 51 times since the Braves joined the PBC prior to the 1992-93 season. The Patriots lead the all-time series 32-19, including wins in the last three meetings, but the Braves won the three meetings prior to that. Six of the last seven games in the series have been decided by single digits, with the only exception a 63-38 UNCP victory on Feb. 25, 2015 in Pembroke. The Braves are 8-17 all-time in Florence.

ABOUT FRANCIS MARION

• The Patriots (11-5, 8-3 PBC) had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 61-47 setback to Flagler on Saturday afternoon. Francis Marion had won eight of its last nine games prior to the loss to the Saints in which they were outrebounded 49-29 and outscored 19-10 in the second quarter.
• Francis Marion is 6-2 on the road this season and just 5-3 at the Smith University Center due in large part to a 9.5-percent shooting discrepancy from behind the arc. The Patriots shoot the 3-ball at a 32.6-percent clip on the road and just 23.1 percent at home.
• The Patriots rack up a league-high 5.0 blocks per game and rank second in the conference offensive rebounds per game (17.9) and total rebounds per game (44.4). 
• After averaging 73.2 points in five November games, Francis Marion's scoring average has dipped to 65.8 in their last 11 games, including four games of 60 points or fewer. The Patriots haven't eclipsed the 70-point mark since a 74-66 win against Clayton State on Jan. 6.
• FMU's Shaunice Fulmore and Khai Chandler rank second and third in the PBC in scoring at 18.6 and 18.3 points per game, respectively. The duo ranks first and second in the league in shots per game at 18.0 and 17.9, but neither are the PBC top 20 in field goal percentage. Abigail Bullock chips in 12.9 points per game to rank 10th in the league, while Kristin Tines hauls in 9.1 rebounds per outing, which is second best in the conference.

 

No. 21 UNC Pembroke Men (14-3, 10-1 PBC) vs. Francis Marion (10-6, 5-6 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Wednesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Location	Florence, S.C. | Smith University Center
Live Statistics	Presto Sports
Audio	UNCP Sports Network
Video	FMU Patriots on YouTube
Peach Belt Conference	Men's Basketball

 
 
MEN'S NOTES

• The No. 21 Braves (14-3, 10-1 PBC) pushed their win streak out to nine games with an 85-65 victory over visiting Clayton State on Saturday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Nigel Grant scored 26 of his career-high 28 points in the first half for the Braves who held the Lakers to just 34.8 percent shooting in the second half.
• With its win over the Lakers on Saturday, the Braves have now registered the third-best 17-game start in program history. Both the 1990-91 and 2014-15 editions of the program won 15 of their first 17 outings. This season's club, however, has captured 10 victories in conference play faster than those previous two squads.
• UNCP has come out on top in its last 12 games away from home against Peach Belt Conference opponents, including an 11-game win streak in true road games. That stretch includes a perfect 5-0 mark on the road against league opponents this season. The last conference road loss for the Braves came in the form of a 96-92 setback at Francis Marion on Jan. 30, 2017.
• The Black & Gold has held its last nine opponents to a combined 37.5 percent shooting, and has limited opponents to sub-36 percent shooting in five of its last six outings. UNCP has averaged 8.6 steals and 7.2 blocks over its last nine games, while also turning in double-digit block totals in three of those contests.
• The Braves are 42-33 all-time against Francis Marion in a hotly-contested series that dates all the way back to the 1971-72 campaign. Twenty-seven of the previous 75 matchups in the series have been decided by five or less points, including 17 that have come down to a single possession. The Black & Gold is just 15-22 all-time against the Patriots in Florence, and has lost 12 of its last 15 against FMU in the Smith University Center. The last seven matchups in the series have been decided by six points or less, with the home team capturing six of those seven tilts.
• In the midst of his 10th season at the helm of the Black & Gold in 2017-18, Ben Miller needs just four more victories this season to match former Pembroke State legend Lacey Gane (169-108 from 1965-75) atop the program's all-time wins list. Miller has led the Braves to a 165-118 (.583) record in 9+ seasons as head coach.
  
  ABOUT FRANCIS MARION
• The Patriots (10-6, 5-6 PBC) have now dropped six of the last eight contests following Wednesday evening's 75-70 home loss to Flagler. Both victories over that stretch have come in overtime, including a 106-104 double-overtime triumph against Augusta on the road last Wednesday.
• Reining Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week Detrek Browning is averaging a league-best 24.6 points per game in 2017-18, and has scored 25 or more points on six occasions this season, including a school-record 41 points in the win over Augusta last week. Browning paces the PBC in both 3-pointers made (52) and attempted (125) this season.
• The Patriots sport the league's second-best scoring team at 82.4 points per game, while also boasting the league's second-best assists per game (15.3) and fewest turnovers per game (13.1) numbers. Conversely, Francis Marion has allowed 78.9 points per game (9^th PBC) this season, and has allowed its previous 16 opponents to shoot at a 47.5 percent (11^th PBC) clip. The Patriots, however, also force a PBC-best 16.3 turnovers as outing as well.
•  The Patriots have averaged 85.0 points per game in five home victories this season, and are shooting 46.2 percent from the field in games played at the Smith University Center. The Patriots are 5-2 at home this season, but have dropped two of their last three home outings heading into Wednesday.