WINGATE – The 24^th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team scored 27 points off of 19 Wingate turnovers and put together a game-changing 20-3 run in the second half to pick up their first win in Cuddy Arena in nearly nine years with an 80-69 triumph over the Bulldogs on Wednesday evening.
 
The result helped UNCP (5-1) improve to 4-1 against South Atlantic Conference teams this season, while also helping the Braves snap a series trend that had the home team prevailing in the last six matchups. It was the first loss of the season for Wingate (4-1) who will open up the league portion of its 2019-20 schedule on Saturday against 12^th-ranked Lincoln Memorial at home.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: #24 UNC Pembroke 80, Wingate 69 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (5-1); Wingate (4-1) LOCATION: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Braves shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half, but nine turnovers by the Black & Gold kept the score close. UNCP took a seven-point lead, 38-31, on a pair of free throws from David Strother with 2-1/2 minutes left, but the hosts countered with nine-straight points to take a short-lived lead. Tyrell Kirk's jumper with 40 seconds left evened the game up at 40 points apiece heading into the break.

2ND HALF

The first 12 minutes of the second stanza featured four tie scores and seven lead changes, but Jordan Ratliffe's 3-pointer at the 7:56 mark ignited the Braves on a 20-3 run over much of the next six minutes. The visitors pushed their lead out to as many as 14 points, 78-64, on David Strother's fastbreak layup with just more than two minutes left before taking their foot off of the gas.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Akia Pruitt scored a team-best 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting before fouling out with 2:46 left in the second half. Pruitt added seven rebounds, one block and a steal to his stat line as well. + Junior Tyrell Kirk scored nine of his 13 points in the second half, while sophomore Jordan Ratliff scored eight of his 13 points in the first half. Kirk registered five assists as well. + Junior Spencer Levi came off of the bench to register a season-high 11 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes of action.

NOTABLES

+ Wednesday's victory by the Braves snapped a series trend that had the home team winning each of the last six matchups. The last win by a road team in the series was a 69-65 triumph by the Bulldogs in Pembroke on Nov. 22, 2011. + The result also helped the Braves snap a three-game road losing streak in the series. UNCP's last victory in Cuddy Arena was a 94-72 triumph on Nov. 30, 2010. That was also UNCP's last double-digit victory in the series with the Bulldogs. + Senior Akia Pruitt moved into eighth place among the Peach Belt Conference's all-time rebounders seven boards on Wednesday. Pruitt now has 818 rebounds in his career, and needs just 24 more this season to move past former UNCP standout George Blakeney for seventh on the list. Former Georgia College standout Isaac Thomas holds the PBC record with 913 career rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Braves will take a 10-day hiatus from competition before making their home debut on December 1 against Mount Olive at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.   Reserved seat season tickets are still on sale for $90 and ensure fans a chairback seat at midcourt in the Peach Belt Conference's most electric environment. Fans can get an even more in-depth experience by purchasing season courtside seats for $200.

STAY CONNECTED

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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.