PEMBROKE – Sophomore Spencer Levi came off the bench to register his second double-double of the season and lead the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team used 58 percent shooting in the second half to pull away late and key an 86-72 victory over Georgia Southwestern on Monday afternoon on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
It is the 17^th-straight home victory for the Braves (13-2, 8-1 PBC) which matches the third-longest home winning streak for either basketball program in Pembroke. It was the eighth-straight loss for the Hurricanes (2-13) who fell to 0-10 away from Americus, Ga., this season as well.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 86, Georgia Southwestern 72 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 13-2, 8-1 PBC; Georgia Southwestern 2-13, 0-9 PBC LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Braves used an 8-0 scoring spurt to eventually grab a 12-4 advantage following a 3-pointer from Cam Hamilton just 6-1/2 minutes into the contest, but the Hurricanes had climbed to within a single possession five minutes later when two free throws from Devin Watson made it a 21-19 affair. The Hurricanes, who were 10-for-13 from the charity stripe in the opening stanza, hung around for the remainder of the period, but a tip-in by Spencer Levi at the buzzer gave the hosts a 39-34 lead heading into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

Georgia Southwestern scored six-straight points to pull to within one, 43-42, at the 16:39 mark, but the Black & Gold scored nine of the next 10 points to pull away momentarily. The Braves led by double digits, 57-47, after Cam Hamilton's 3-pointer with just more than 13 minutes remaining, but the Hurricanes answered with a 10-2 run to chip into their deficit and make it a 63-61 game after two free throws from Jamari Dean with 9-1/2 minutes left to play. Akia Pruitt's jumper at the 5:44 mark, however, sparked the Black & Gold on a 10-0 run that helped it pull away for good.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Spencer Levi came off of the bench to record his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds in just 21 minutes on the floor. + Junior Akia Pruitt turned in 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while also turning in eight rebounds and one block. + Sophomore David Strother finished his night with 11 points and eight assists. + Senior James Murray-Boyles added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while redshirt freshman Cam Hamilton came off of the bench to knock down three 3-pointers (five attempts) in 14 minutes of action.

NOTABLES

+ The Black & Gold's 17th-straight home win matched the third-longest home win streak for either basketball program at UNCP. The women's team won 17-straight home games during the 1982-83 and 1983-84 campaigns. + The Braves have finished off two season sweeps of Peach Belt Conference opponents this week with their home wins over Columbus State on Saturday and Georgia Southwestern today. UNCP won road contests against both teams in December. + Georgia Southwestern's 31 free throw attempts is the most by an opponent for the Braves this season. Lander set the previous high with 29 free throw attempts against the Braves on January 8.

UP NEXT

UNCP will close out a three-game home stand on Wednesday when it takes on PBC-leading and seventh-ranked USC Aiken (15-1, 9-1 PBC) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. Neon Night doubleheader at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

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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.