PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team scored 21 second-chance points, dominated the paint and matched a Peach Belt Conference record with 14 blocks on the way to a 76-69 victory over visiting Wingate on Tuesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
It was the second-straight victory for the Braves (4-1) who will now get a 10-day hiatus from competition before opening up the Peach Belt Conference portion of their 2018-19 schedule against Young Harris at home. It was the third loss in the last four outings for the Bulldogs (2-3) who fell to 0-2 away from Wingate in 2018-19.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 76, Wingate 69
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 4-1; Wingate 2-3
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court) |
|
| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST HALF |
| A tie game through the first 3-1/2 minutes, Akia Pruitt's running jumper at the 15:32 mark sparked the Braves on a 12-2 run that gave them a double-digit advantage, 21-11, just more than three minutes later. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 13 points, 26-13, after a 3-pointer from Cam Hamilton with 10:09 to play, but chipped away at their deficit and eventually used an 11-2 run to take a 35-34 lead into the locker rooms. |
| 2ND HALF |
| The Braves scored the first nine points of the second half to take a lead they would not relinquish. Wingate whittled a big deficit down to just one point, 55-54, on a 3-pointer from Marco Haskins with just less than 10 minutes to play, but the hosts used a game-changing 12-0 run over the next three minutes to pull away for good. |
|
| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Senior James Murray-Boyles scored a team-best 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the Braves, while also adding seven rebounds.
+ Junior Akia Pruitt finished off his night with 15 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals. It is the 30th time in his career (70 games played) that he has recorded three or more blocks in a game.
+ Sophomore Tyrell Kirk added 11 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds on Tuesday. He also added three assists and a career-high three blocks.
+ Micah Kinsey finished the night with a team-best five assists – the 14th time in his career that he has amassed five or more assists. |
|
| NOTABLES |
+ The home team has won each of the last five games in the series between the Braves and Wingate. UNCP is now 13-7 against the Bulldogs all-time at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
+ UNCP matched a Peach Belt Conference record with 14 blocks against the Bulldogs on Tuesday. It is a record that they had already matched last season with 14 blocks at Columbus State.
+ The Braves have now won nine-straight home openers and are 9-2 in those contests under head coach Ben Miller. |
|
| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will take a 10-day hiatus from competition before opening up the Peach Belt Conference portion of their 2018-19 slate on December 1 against Young Harris (1-4) in Pembroke. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. |
|
| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow UNCP Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Men's Basketball on Facebook. |
|
| 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. |
