PEMBROKE – Brandon Watts hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:46 left in double overtime, and the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team fought off late game-tying 3-pointers in both regulation and the first overtime period to tough out an 82-75 victory over Georgia College on Saturday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
It was the fourth-straight victory for the Braves (9-3, 5-1 PBC) who have now captured four of the last five in the series with the Bobcats. Georgia College (7-5, 3-3) has now lost two-straight road outings after having its four-game win streak snapped on Wednesday at Georgia Southwestern.
 
Watts scored a team-best 18 points, including nine in a foul-filled first half, to pace the hosts, while sophomore Akia Pruitt registered 14 points and matched a career-best with 14 boards on the way to posting his 11^th career double-double. Nigel Grant tallied 13 points before fouling out with 3:57 left in regulation, while Lumberton native David Strother turned in 11 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 clip from the free throw line in overtime.
 
Isaac Thomas turned in a double-double as well with a game-best 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, while Jordan Thomas added 18 of his own, including a 9-for-11 mark from the charity stripe.
 
Brice Booker gathered the tipoff and scored four seconds later to give Georgia College a leg up in the second overtime period, but the Bobcats mustered just 1-for-8 shooting the rest of the way out. Watts' 3-pointer with just less than four minutes left would give the Black & Gold the lead for good, but the hosts went 7-of-8 from the free throw line over the last three minutes to fuel the outcome.
 
An old-fashioned 3-point play by Pruitt with five seconds left in regulation seemingly gave the Braves an insurmountable 61-58 advantage, but Isaac Thomas sent the game into overtime with a clutch 3-pointer on the other end of the court. James Murray-Boyles hit the back end of a two-shot foul in the second extra period to put UNCP up by five points, 70-65, with 68 seconds left, but Isaac Thomas sank another game-tying 3-pointer with 24 seconds to provide the dramatics again.
 
The Braves will return to action on Wednesday when they close out their short two-game home stand against league nemesis Augusta (7-5, 4-2) at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.