PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team shot better than 57 percent from the field, including a 61.5 percent clip in the first stanza, and led for nearly 39 minutes on the way to a 122-96 victory over Clayton State on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The victory snapped the lid on the home portion of the regular seasons schedule for the Braves (19-7, 14-6 PBC) who clinched a home game in the quarterfinal round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament which begins on March 6. It was the fifth loss in the last six outings for the Lakers (9-17, 6-14) who fell to 4-11 away from home this season.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 122, Clayton State 96 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 19-7, 14-6 PBC; Clayton State 9-17, 6-14 PBC LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

UNCP converted on 24 of their 39 attempts from the field in the first half, and scored 16 points off of 10 turnovers by Clayton State, to take a 61-37 advantage into the locker rooms. The squads traded 3-pointers in the first 87 seconds, but the Braves took the lead for good on a fastbreak layup by Micah Kinsey at the 17:59 mark. The Braves used an 11-2 run to stretch their lead out to double-digits, 27-16, on a layup from James Murray-Boyles with 11:50 still to play, and then put together a 19-4 run in the waning minutes to eventually pad their lead out to 24 points, 59-35, with four seconds left before the break.

2ND HALF

Clayton State grabbed a bit of momentum to open the second half and eventually trimmed its deficit back to 15 points, 65-50, on a jumper by Justin Tuckson just less than three minutes in, but the Black & Gold answered with a 13-2 run to push its lead back to 26 points three minutes later. UNCP led by as many as 36 points after Micah Kinsey made it a 102-66 contest on a tip-in at the 4:43 mark, and the Braves capped the scoring on the day with Jourdoun Cloud's 3-pointer with 11 ticks left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior James Murray-Boyles recorded his fifth career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding a pair of assists and one steal. + Sophomore David Strother turned in a game-high 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and also turned in three assists and two steals. + Junior Akia Pruitt tallied 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and added seven rebounds and two blocks to his offensive numbers as well. + Redshirt freshman Cam Hamilton came off of the bench to post 19 points in as many minutes. He finished 3-of-5 from the perimeter, and canned all six of his free throw attempts.

NOTABLES

+ The 122 points were the most scored by the Braves since a 131-49 victory over Johnson & Wales in the 2010-11 season opener (Nov. 14, 2010). It is a program-high for points against an NCAA Division II opponent. + The Black & Gold has now shot 52 percent or better in consecutive games for the first time since November. The Braves shot 52.9 percent from the field in the season-opening win over Newberry, and followed it up the next day with 53.6 percent shooting in the overtime win at Catawba. + The 61 points in the first half was the most productive half for the Braves since registering 63 first-half points in a 101-68 home victory over North Georgia on Feb. 11, 2018

UP NEXT

UNCP will open up a regular season-ending three-game road trip on Wednesday when it makes the short drive to Florence, S.C., to lock horns with Francis Marion (19-6, 15-5 PBC) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader inside the Smith University Center.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow UNCP Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Men's Basketball on Facebook.

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.