PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's and women's basketball teams will return home for the first time in more than two weeks on Saturday when the Braves suit up to host Georgia College in a 1:30 p.m. Autograph Day doubleheader at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

Fans unable to make the trip to Pembroke can follow the game for free via a live video stream on the UNCP Sports Network with Matt Sabados and Trevor Williams handling the play-by-play duties. The game can also be followed via live a live statistics link provided by UNCP.

 

UNC Pembroke Women (3-6, 1-4 PBC) vs. Georgia College (6-5, 3-2 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Saturday, January 6 at 1:30 p.m. ET
Location	Pembroke, N.C. | Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court
Live Statistics	Stat Broadcast
Video	UNCP Sports Network
Peach Belt Conference	Women's Basketball

WOMEN'S NOTES

• The Lady Braves (3-6, 1-4 PBC) lost their second-straight PBC contest on Wednesday evening at Lander. The host Bearcats made 34 trips to the charity stripe in the 75-54 victory, while UNCP attempted just nine free throws in the setback. Senior Nyla Allen scored a team-high 13 points to give her double-digit points in five-straight games.
• Allen leads all Braves with 11.8 points per game though the first nine contests and her scoring average improves to 16.2 in the last five games, including two 20+ point outings. Allen is also averaging a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game and the senior has two double-doubles this season.
• Freshman Melanie Horne chips in an even 8.0 points per outing, while newcomers Tee Graham and Aliyah Farmer pour in 7.8 and 7.6 per game, respectively. Farmer's 5.3 boards per contest ranks second on the Black & Gold and her 47.2-percent shooting clip leads the squad. Graham dishes out a team-best 2.9 assists per game and Alecia Hardy is averaging 2.6 dimes per outing.
• UNCP leads the PBC 3-pointers attempted per game (23.0) and slots second in the league in 3-pointers made per game (6.9). The Braves sit second in the conference in free-throw percentage (72.3) and fourth in offensive rebounds per game (15.6).
• All three of the Braves' wins this season have come in Pembroke, where UNCP is 3-1 compared to an 0-5 mark away from home. The Black & Gold is averaging 77.5 points per game at home and just 54.0 points on the road. The Braves' are shooting 35.3 percent from behind the arc and just 24.8 percent away from Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court this season.
• UNCP and Georgia College have met five 38 times since the Braves joined the PBC prior to the 1992-93 season with the Bobcats holding a 29-9 advantage in the series. The Braves are 8-10 in Pembroke against Georgia College, including a 71-51 victory at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court last season.
• 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 274-359 (.433) record overall, including a 169-196 (.463) mark at the helm of the women's program since 2004-05.

ABOUT GEORGIA COLLEGE

• Georgia College (6-5, 3-2 PBC) has won five of its last six games overall, including a 76-63 victory over Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday evening. Four Bobcats poured in double-digit points against the Hurricanes, led by a season-high 21 from Alyah McGriff. Erin Drynan and Ta'Asia Wright each posted a double-double in the triumph.
• After starting the season 1-4, Georgia College is 5-1 since Dec. 2, including a perfect 3-0 record away from home. The Bobcats are averaging 67.8 points per game since the calendar turned to December after averaging just 60.4 points per outing in November.
• The Bobcats are in the bottom third of the PBC in points per game (64.5) and 3-pointers made per game (4.4), but rank first in the league in fewest fouls per game (14.9) and second in assists per game (17.5), blocks per game (4.2) and opponents' field goal percentage (36.7)
• Four Bobcats score double-digit points per game, led by 14.2 from McGriff. Drynan chips in 10.7 points per outing, while Brianna Davis and Sydney Cleveland add 10.6 and 10.4 points per contest, respectively. Wright pulls in a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game and McGriff hauls in 8.7 boards per tilt, which rank second and third in the league. McGriff has a team-high five double-doubles this season and her 14.2 points ranks seventh in the PBC.
• Saturday's contest with the Braves will mark Georgia College's fourth road tilt in its last five games. The Bobcats are 3-2 away from home this season after posting a 5-8 record on the road last season.

 

UNC Pembroke Men (8-3, 4-1 PBC) vs. Georgia College (7-4, 3-2 PBC)
Date & Tip Time	Saturday, January 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Location	Pembroke, N.C. | Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court
Live Statistics	Stat Broadcast
Video	UNCP Sports Network
Peach Belt Conference	Men's Basketball

 
 
MEN'S NOTES

• The Braves (8-3, 4-1 PBC) tacked up their third-straight victory with a come-from-behind 81-78 triumph at Lander on Wednesday evening in Horne Arena. UNCP trailed by 17 points just five minutes into the contest, but keyed the rally by forcing 18 turnovers, while also registering a +9 disparity in the rebounding column.
• Through 11 games this season, the Black & Gold has forced 14.8 opponent turnovers per game (5^th PBC), and is scoring nearly 19 points per game off of opponent miscues. UNCP has scored 20 or more points off of opponent turnovers in four contests this season, including a season-best 30 in a November win over Barton.
• Seniors Brandon Watts (16.7) and Nigel Grant (16.3) have combined to score 33 points per game over the current three-game win streak for the Braves. The duo has combined to shoot better than 56 percent from the floor over that span, as well as pull down 7.0 rebounds apiece as well.
• UNCP has held opponents to just 39.7 percent shooting and 70.8 points per game through six home outings this season. In addition, the Braves have posted 8.3 steals and 6.2 blocks per game at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court in 2017-18 as well. Three opponents have failed to reach the 40-percent shooting plateau in Pembroke this season, including Georgia Southwestern who shot just 33 percent from the floor.
• In the midst of his 10th season at the helm of the Black & Gold in 2017-18, Ben Miller needs just 10 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 159-118 (.574) record in 9+ seasons as head coach.
• The Braves are just 9-29 all-time against Georgia College in a series that dates back to the 1992-93 campaign – UNCP's first as an NCAA Division II member. The squads have split the last six series matchups, but the Braves have captured three of the last four against the Bobcats, including the last three contests at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Eight of UNCP's nine wins in the series have come in Pembroke.
  
  ABOUT GEORGIA COLLEGE
• The Bobcats (7-4, 3-2 PBC) had their four-game win streak stopped with an 85-82 overtime setback at Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday evening in Americus, Ga. Georgia College, which trailed by as many as 10 points midway through the second half, got a 26-point outing from Jordan Thomas in the loss.
• Georgia College ranks in the middle of the pack in the league in both scoring (68.1 points/game) and scoring defense (65.8 points/game), but average just 12.5 turnovers per game. The Bobcats have shot just 42.6 percent from the field (12^th PBC) through 11 outings this season, but are allowing opponents to shoot at just a 40.0 percent clip (1^st PBC).
• Junior Isaac Thomas has registered team-bests in both points (12.5) points and rebounds (9.2) per game this season, while shooting 51 percent from the field. Rookie Jordan Thomas (no relation) has contributed 11.5 points an outing in 2017-18. Jordan Thomas has scored 20 or more points in each of the last two outings for the Bobcats, while Isaac Thomas has recorded 10 or more points in eight games this season.
• Georgia College had won three-straight road games before Wednesday's setback at Georgia Southwestern. The Bobcats are just 15-36 in PBC road games over the last 5+ seasons, and have come away empty-handed in four of their last five trips to Pembroke.