PEMBROKE – The 21^st-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team scored 52 points in the paint, out-rebounded visiting Francis Marion by 17 boards and closed the first half with a 19-5 run to key a 91-72 victory over the Patriots on Wednesday evening on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The Braves (15-3, 10-2 PBC) improved to 7-1 in Pembroke this season with the win but, more importantly, kept pace in with 10^th-ranked USC Aiken in the race for the conference's regular season crown. It was the eighth-straight series road loss for the Patriots (13-4, 9-3) who fell to 7-2 away from Florence, S.C., with the result as well.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: No. 21 UNC Pembroke 91, Francis Marion 72 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 15-3, 10-2 PBC; Francis Marion 13-4, 9-3 PBC LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Patriots canned just two of their first 13 shots from the field and fell behind by five points, 10-5, after Carson Mounce's jumper just less than seven minutes in. The visitors would respond, however, converting on seven of their next eight shots to eventually grab a 24-17 advantage on Ryan Davis's jumper six minutes later. The Braves would control the momentum the rest of the way out, however, forcing six turnovers and limiting the visitors to just three field goal attempts (one made) to fuel a 19-5 run that eventually gave UNCP a 38-31 lead heading into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

The Braves converted on eight of their first 10 field goal attempts to pad their advantage out to 13 points after Spencer Levi's lay-in at the 14:50 mark. Je'Quan Perry's 3-pointer with 8-1/2 minutes remaining sparked Francis Marion on an 11-2 run that allowed it to get as close as six points, but the Black & Gold responded with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes to all but seal the outcome. The hosts led by as many as 22 points, 91-69, following two free throws by Jayvian Hicks with 47 seconds left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Akia Pruitt notched his 16th career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and entered his name into the record books as the 36th-member of the program's 1,000-Point Club on a tip-in 36 seconds into the second half. + Sophomore David Strother tallied a team-best 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and also turned in a game-best four steals. + Tyrell Kirk scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the second half, and finished the night with 17 points and 11 boards to tack up his second career double-double.

NOTABLES

+ The home team has now won the last eight matchups in the series between Francis Marion and UNCP. + The Braves have captured five of the last six meetings with the Patriots, including two wins over FMU in the 2017-18 postseason. + The Black & Gold has won the last eight matchups (nine of last 10) with Francis Marion at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. FMU's last road in the series came on Jan. 2, 2011 (86-82). + Wednesday's result marked the second time in the last three meetings with the Patriots that UNCP has posted a 19-point victory. The Braves registered a 94-75 win over Francis Marion in the semifinal round of the 2017-18 PBC Tournament in Morrow, Ga.

UP NEXT

The Braves will close out a short two-game home stand on Saturday when they take on Flagler (7-11, 4-8 PBC) on Alumni Day at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 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.