PEMBROKE – Visiting Augusta limited the 21^st-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team to one of its worst shooting nights of the season and used a 12-5 run midway through the second half to key a 72-69 victory over the Braves on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The setback marked the second loss in the last three outings for the Black & Gold (17-5, 12-4 PBC) who fell into fourth place in the race for the league's regular season crown. The result stopped a four-game series skid for the Jaguars (17-5, 13-3) who extended their road win streak out to five games as well.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Augusta 72, No. 21 UNC Pembroke 69 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 17-5, 12-4 PBC; Augusta 17-5, 13-3 LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Jaguars converted on five of their first seven field goal attempts and used a slow start by the Braves to grab a 14-5 lead just less than five minutes into the contest. UNCP, which shot just 28.5 percent from the field in the game's first 14-1/2 minutes, eventually caught fire and scored 13 of the final 15 points of the opening stanza to take a 34-32 advantage into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

The first 9-1/2 minutes of the second half featured seven tie scores and four lead changes, before Augusta took the lead for good on a fastbreak layup by Darren Lucas-White at the 10:07 mark. The Jaguars took a seven-point lead, 65-58, on a tipin by Deane Williams with just more than six minutes to play, but UNCP scored on their next two possessions to trim their deficit back to two. The hosts, however, would convert on just two of their final eight attempts from the field.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Akia Pruitt registered a team-best 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting and narrowly missed his 18th career double-double with nine rebounds as well. + Senior James Murray-Boyles scored nine of his 16 points in the second half despite playing the final 16-1/2 minutes with four fouls. + Redshirt freshman Cam Hamilton came off of the bench to tally a dozen points in just 15 minutes on the floor. He scored eight points on 3-of-6 shooting in the first period. + Sophomore Spencer Levi pulled down a dozen boards and added two blocks in 18 minutes of playing time.

NOTABLES

+ Wednesday's result snapped a four-game series skid for the Jaguars who picked up their first win over UNCP since a 90-78 triumph in Pembroke on Jan. 2, 2017. + The Black & Gold fell to 2-2 this season when shooting 38.2 percent or less from the field, but has now lost two-straight games (at Lander on Saturday) when that statistic rears its ugly head. + UNCP will play five of its last six regular season contests on the road, returning home only to host a Senior Day contest with Clayton State on February 23. That stretch includes road games at PBC-leading USC Aiken (February 20) and at Francis Marion (February 27).

UP NEXT

UNCP will open up a three-game road trip on Saturday when it treks to northeast Georgia to battle Young Harris (10-12, 8-8 PBC) in the back half of a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the YHC Basketball Arena.

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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.