ELIZABETH CITY – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team canned seven 3-pointers on the way to taking a 20-point lead into the intermission, and dominated the offensive boards on the way to a 72-58 victory at Elizabeth City State on Tuesday evening.
 
The triumph closed out the non-conference portion of the 2018-19 schedule for the Braves (6-1) who also picked up their first victory in the 3-game-old series with the Vikings. It was the sixth loss in the last seven outings for Elizabeth City State (3-7) who fell to 2-2 this season at the R.L. Vaughan Center as well.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 72, Elizabeth City State 58 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 6-1; Elizabeth City State 3-7 LOCATION: Elizabeth City, N.C. (R.L. Vaughan Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

Elizabeth City State rallied to trim an 11-point deficit down to just five, 14-9, on a layup from Joseph Allen with just less than 10 minutes to play in the opening half. David Strother's trey on the other end of the court, however, sparked the Black & Gold on an 18-2 run over the next four minutes that eventually gave it a 32-11 advantage after a dunk from newcomer Spencer Levi at the 5:15 mark. The visitors closed the half with a mild 8-2 run to lug a 20-point lead, 43-23, into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

A running layup from James Murray-Boyles just 40 seconds into the second period pushed UNCP's lead back to 20 points, 45-25, but a pair of free throws from Justin Faison on the ensuing possession marked the beginning of a 19-4 run for Elizabeth City State that eventually made it a 49-44 contest six minutes later. A short jumper from Jamal Bryant at the 8:42 mark pushed the visitors' lead back out to double digits, 55-44, but the Vikings cut into their deficit again, this time with an 11-4 scoring spurt that whittled the deficit back down to four points. The Black & Gold would slam the door on the rally after that, however, closing out the game with a 13-3 run to ice the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior James Murray-Boyles scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the first half. It was the 48th double-digit scoring outing in 99 career games played for the Columbia, S.C., native. + Sophomore David Strother finished his night with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, but also added six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals. + Junior Akia Pruitt exited the R.L. Vaughan Center with six points, a game-high eight rebounds and a trio of blocks – the 31st time in his career (72 games played) that he has turned in three or more blocks. + Spencer Levi and Cam Hamilton both came off the bench to register 10 points for the visitors as well.

NOTABLES

+ Tuesday's triumph gave the Braves their first victory in the series with Elizabeth City State. The Vikings held a 2-0 series lead heading into the outing, but it was the first series matchup since the 1970-71 season. + UNCP registered 30 offensive rebounds in Tuesday's victory – the most offensive boards for the Braves since they tallied 32 in a home win over St. Andrews on Dec. 12, 2012. + The Braves have now captured 13-straight games against teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), and moved to 13-1 against the CIAA under head coach Ben Miller. + The victory closed out the non-conference slate for the Black & Gold who finished the regular season with a 5-1 clip against non-Peach Belt Conference opponents. It is the ninth-straight season that UNCP has posted a winning mark in regular season non-conference play.

UP NEXT

The Braves will dive back into Peach Belt Conference play on Monday when they make the long trek to western Georgia to battle Columbus State (5-2, 1-1 PBC) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. men's and women's doubleheader inside the Frank G. Lumpkin Center.

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