WINSTON-SALEM – Senior Akia Pruitt registered his 22^nd career double-double with 20 points and a career-best 20 rebounds to lead a quartet of Braves with double-figure scoring nights, and the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team remained perfect on the campaign with a 75-64 win at Winston-Salem State on Tuesday.
 
The Braves (3-0) have now captured all five matchups in the series with the Rams that dates back to the 2015 season. Tuesday's contest marked the season opener for Winston-Salem State (0-1) whose only other action this season was a 35-point exhibition loss at UNC-Chapel Hill nearly two weeks ago.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 75, Winston-Salem State 64 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (3-0); Winston-Salem State (0-1) LOCATION: Winston-Salem, N.C. (C.E. Gaines Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Braves shot better than 45 percent from the field, including a 6-for-13 mark from the perimeter, but 10 turnovers by the Black & Gold kept it close, at least in the early going. Winston-Salem State scored five quick points to grab its first lead of the night, 16-15, on Mason Harrell's jumper with 12:08 left before halftime and went back-and-forth with the visitors for the next 3-1/2 minutes before started to distance itself for good. Tyrell Kirk's jumper with 30 seconds left would give UNCP a 39-28 edge heading into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

UNCP opened the second half with a 10-1 run and pushed its lead out to 20 points, 49-29, on Tyrell Kirk's 3-pointer just more than four minutes in. Winston-Salem State counted with a 12-2 run minutes later and whittled its deficit down to just 10 points, 53-43, after three free throws from Julius Barnes at the 10:58 mark. Jordan Ratliff's layup with just more than seven minutes left, however, signaled a 5-0 scoring spurt by the Black & Gold that all but put the game away.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Akia Pruitt registered a game-best 20 points, while also pulling down a career-best 20 rebounds as well. It is the 22nd double-double of his career. + Junior Tyrell Kirk turned in 19 points on 7-of-14 field goal shooting, while also tallying five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. + Newcomer Jordan Ratliffe (4-of-10 shooting) and Carson Mounce (5-of-8) each added 10 points for the visitors.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves have now captured all five meetings in the series with Winston-Salem State. UNCP has won each of the last four series matchups by double digits. + UNCP is 3-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 squad captured its first seven outings of the season.

UP NEXT

The Braves will continue their season-opening six-game home stand this weekend when they head to Charlotte for a Queens-hosted round-robin tournament. The Braves will battle Tusculum on Saturday evening to open up their portion of tournament play, and will close out their weekend stay on Sunday with a marquee tilt against seventh-ranked Queens.

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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.