FLORENCE, S.C. – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team rallied back from a 10-point deficit with just 90 secondsleft in regulation, and then canned seven of its nine free throw attempts in overtime to key a 95-90 victory over Catawba on Friday afternoon at the Peach Belt Conference/South Atlantic Conference Challenge in Florence, S.C.
The Braves (1-0) have now captured nine of their last 10 season-opening contests, and have not dropped a season lid-lifter since the 2015-16 campaign. The Indians (0-1) fell to 2-6 against the Black & Gold this century, and have now lost three of the last four series matchups.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 95, Catawba 90 (Overtime)
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (1-0); Catawba (0-1)
LOCATION: Florence, S.C. (Smith University Center – PBC/SAC Challenge) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST HALF |
| Catawba shot better than 47 percent from the field in the opening half and used a healthy advantage (24-15) in the rebounding column to eventually lug a 43-41 lead into the lockerrooms. The Braves trailed by double digits, 16-6, just more than four minutes into the game, but eventually put together a 16-6 later in the half and took the lead, 29-27, following a 3-pointer from Jabrie Bullard at the 7:03 mark. The Indians, however, would take the lead into the break. |
| 2ND HALF |
| Catawba doubled up the Braves (18-9) in the opening 6-1/2 minutes of the second half to pad their lead back out to double digits, 65-54, but the Braves had climbed back to within a bucket, 72-70, nearly seven minutes later. Catawba, again, used an impressive run to eventually stretch its lead out to 10 points, 84-74, on a fastbreak layup from Zaqwuan Matthews, but that would signal the comeback. Tyrell Kirk's layup with 1:28 to play signaled the first of 10 unanswered points by the Braves that sent the game into overtime. Catawba turned the ball over three times and missed both of its field goal attempts over the stretch to fuel the run. |
| OVERTIME |
| The Indians took a three-point lead, 90-87, on two free throws by Devin Cooper 2-1/2 minutes into the extra frame, but it was all Black & Gold after that. UNCP scored the game's final eight points, including go-ahead free throws from Tyrell Kirk with 57 ticks left, to close out the comeback victory. The Braves went 7-for-9 from the charity stripe in overtime, and made good on their last six attempts from the line. |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Newcomer Jordan Ratliffe scored a team-best 24 points on 9-of-15 field goal shooting to pace the Braves. The VMI transfer aided his offensive performance with a 5-for-9 success rate from the perimeter, but also turned in seven rebounds as well.
+ Junior Tyrell Kirk keyed a 16-point outing with an 8-for-9 showing from the free throw line. He also tallied six boards and five steals.
+ Senior Akia Pruitt registered his 21st career double-double with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while adding a pair of blocks and one assist.
+ Redshirt junior David Strother turned in 15 points, eight assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals. He aided his offensive output with an 8-for-11 success rate from the free throw line. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ UNCP is 11-2 in season openers since the close of the 2009-10 campaign. The Braves have now captured four-straight season-opening contests.
+ The Braves have now posted victories in their last 10 overtime games. The last overtime setback for the Black & Gold was a 78-74 loss at Francis Marion on Feb. 6, 2014.
+ UNCP improved to 17-25 all-time in a series with Catawba that dates back to the 1965-66 campaign. The Braves are 6-2 against the Indians in this century, however. The clubs were both formerly members of the Carolinas Conference (now Conference Carolinas), but did not face one another on the hardwood from 1988-2011. |
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| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will close out their portion of tournament play at the Peach Belt Conference/South Atlantic Conference Challenge on Saturday when they battle Newberry (1-0). Tipoff for that contest has been scheduled for 6 p.m. inside FMU's Smith University Center. The Wolves were an 85-71 victor over tournament host Francis Marion earlier on Saturday. |
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| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow UNCP Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Men's Basketball on Facebook. |
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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. |
