DAHLONEGA, Ga. – North Georgia shot better than 50 percent from the field, including a 12-for-23 mark from the perimeter, and forced a big turnover on a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to key an 82-77 victory over the 21^st-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team on Sunday inside the UNG Convocation Center.
 
It was the third loss in the last five outings for the Braves (18-6, 13-5 PBC) who fell back into fourth place in the race for the Peach Belt Conference regular season crown as well. The triumph snapped a seven-game series losing skid for the Nighthawks (10-14, 5-13) who picked up their first victory over UNCP since Feb. 15, 2014.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: North Georgia 82, No. 21 UNC Pembroke 77 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 18-6, 13-5 PBC; North Georgia 10-14, 5-13 LOCATION: Dahlonega, Ga. (Convocation Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

UNC Pembroke lit up the scoreboard first on Akia Pruitt's layup just 30 seconds into the contest, but North Georgia answered with 12-straight points over the next 4-1/2 minutes to quickly grab the momentum. The Braves eventually cut into their deficit on back-to-back buckets from Cam Hamilton and Tyrell Kirk midway through the period, and then used a 10-2 scoring spurt to take the lead, 32-31, on an old-fashioned 3-pointer by David Strother at the 3:56 mark. The hosts got a big 3-pointer from Tyler Dean with just more than a minute left, and eventually drug a 42-38 lead into the intermission.

2ND HALF

The Nighthawks led by seven points, 47-40, after Zezmon Steeple's jumper just 2-1/2 minutes into the second stanza, but the Braves answered with seven-straight points to tie the game back up on a layup from Spencer Levi with 15:10 to play. Jack Howard's 3-pointer at the 12:57 mark sparked a run of eight-straight points by North Georgia that gave it a 60-52 lead just two minutes later, but a 3-pointer from James Murray-Boyles late in the game put the finishing touches on a 7-0 scoring spurt the pulled the visitors to within one point, 78-77, with just 87 seconds remaining. UNCP got a big rebound off of a miss from Zezmon Steeple late in the game, but Murray-Boyles traveled on a potential game-tying 3-point attempt from the top of the key to all but seal the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Akia Pruitt scored a team-best 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while also turning in five rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks. + James Murray-Boyles came off of the bench to total 14 points, including 10 in the second half. + Sophomore Tyrell Kirk added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.

NOTABLES

+ Sunday's loss was the first for the Braves against North Georgia since an 87-72 setback in Dahlonega on Dec. 15, 2014, and snapped a seven-game series win streak for UNCP. + Despite the loss, the Braves have won 15 of their last 18 games played inside the state of Georgia. + The Braves tallied just nine assists on Sunday – just the third time this season that the club has registered less than 10 assists in a game. + With a 34-33 edge in Sunday's loss, the Black & Gold has now out-rebounded its last 10 opponents. The Braves out-rebounded the Nighthawks, 48-41, in their win over UNG in January.

UP NEXT

The Braves will close out a three-game road trip on Wednesday when they make the trip to southwest South Carolina to battle Peach Belt Conference-leading and sixth-ranked USC Aiken (22-2, 16-2 PBC) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the USCA Convocation Center.

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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.