SALISBURY – James Murray-Boyles hit a game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, and newcomer Spencer Levi connected on a clutch tip-in with 33 seconds remaining in the extra period, to lift the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team past Catawba, 80-75, on Saturday afternoon at the PBC/South Atlantic Conference Challenge.
 
The triumph left the Braves (2-0) as the only unbeaten team in the round-robin style tournament, while also giving UNCP its 10^th victory in the last 12 road outings as well. The Indians (1-1) split two matchups at the PBC/South Atlantic Conference Challenge, including a 115-82 win over Francis Marion on Friday.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 80, Catawba 75 (OT) RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 2-0; Catawba 1-1 LOCATION: Salisbury, N.C. (Goodman Gym)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The lead changed hands seven times in the first 8-1/2 minutes, but Jamal Bryant's layup at the 11:06 mark gave the Black & Gold the lead for the remainder of the half. The Braves led by as many as nine points, 33-24, after Tyrell Kirk's jumper with 27 seconds left before intermission, but Daquan Lilly tipped in a missed jumper from Jameel Taylor to make it a 33-26 game at the half.

2ND HALF

James Murray-Boyles gave the Braves a 42-35 advantage on a 3-pointer at the 15:22 mark, but Jameel Taylor's layup on the other end of the court sparked Catawba on a 15-6 run that eventually gave the hosts a 50-46 advantage with just less than 12 minutes to play. Murray-Boyles scored buckets on three-straight trips late in the period to give the visitors a 64-61 lead, but the Indians went out in front by three, 68-65, on a layup and a jumper by Taylor in the final minute, the latter of which forced a UNCP timeout. Micah Kinsey found Murray-Boyles with a wide-open shot on the perimeter with five seconds left that knotted the game back up.

OVERTIME

Catawba connected on just one of their six attempts from the field in the overtime period, but trailed by just two points, 77-75, after Daquan Lilly's free throws with 40 seconds left. Spencer Levi tipped in a missed layup by Cam Hamilton with 33 ticks left, and then converted the old-fashioned 3-point play to put the final points on the board. The Braves missed all four of their free throw attempts in the final 22 seconds, but the Indians, in turn, went 0-for-3 from the field and turned the ball over twice in the same time frame.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior James Murray-Boyles scored 14 of his game-best (shared) 19 points in the second half. The Columbia, S.C., finished his day with a 7-for-12 shooting clip, while also adding five rebounds and a trio of assists. + Junior Akia Pruitt scored 10 points, while also adding eight boards, two steals and a block. Pruitt has now scored 10 or more points in 45 games in his 2+-year career (67 career games played). + Junior Carson Mounce, who redshirted for the Braves last season, scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. + Junior Micah Kinsey registered a game-best five assists. He has now turned in five or more assists 12 times during his collegiate career. + Catawba logged 22 offensive rebounds in the contest, but finished with just 11 second-chance points. The Indians posted a 49-34 advantage in the rebounding column, including a 26-16 tally in the first half.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves have now won five of the last six matchups in the series with Catawba. That covers the series all the way back to Dec. 30, 2012, when the two resumed their series for the first time since the 1987-88 campaign. + UNCP has now posted victories in its last eight overtime games. The last overtime setback for the club came at Francis Marion (78-74) on Feb. 6, 2014. The Braves are 13-6 in overtime contests under head coach Ben Miller (2008-present). + The Black & Gold was on the wrong end of a double-digit rebound disparity. That has happened just once in each of the last four seasons. It is the first time an opponent has out-rebounded the Black & Gold by 10 or more boards since Augusta registered a 50-37 rebounding advantage on Jan. 10, 2018. The Braves won that game as well, 68-62.

UP NEXT

UNCP will continue a season-opening four-game stretch away from home on Friday and Saturday when it makes the short trip to Mount Olive to take part in the 53rd Annual Pickle Classic inside UMO's Kornegay Arena. UNCP will battle unbeaten Barton (2-0) on Friday at 5 p.m. in the opening game of the event, and will take on the host-Trojans (1-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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JOIN THE BRAVES CLUB

Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Men's Basketball program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu.