PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball team canned a dozen 3-pointers and limited visiting Francis Marion to a paltry 25.8-percent shooting effort in the opening half on the way to an 84-70 victory over the Patriots on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
It was the ninth win in the last 10 outings for the Braves (15-4, 9-2 PBC) who will ride a five-game win streak into their road contest with Clayton State on Saturday. The Patriots (3-15, 2-9) have now dropped 10-straight outings dating back to December 21, and fell to 0-8 in true road games this season with Wednesday's result as well.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 84, Francis Marion 70
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (15-4, 9-2 PBC); Francis Marion (3-15, 2-9 PBC)
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court) |
|
| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST HALF |
| Francis Marion converted on just one of its first 11 field goal attempts of the evening, and the Braves took advantage of the cold shooting to build a nine-point advantage, 11-2, just 4-1/2 minutes into the contest. The hosts led by as many as 15 points, 35-20, following a 3-pointer from Tyrell Kirk with 1:05 left before the break, and eventually took a 35-23 lead into the locker rooms. |
| 2ND HALF |
| Spencer Levi's bucket at the 14:27 mark signaled the start of an 8-0 run for the Black & Gold who stretched its lead out to 21 points just 23 seconds later. The hosts led by a game-best 23 points, 68-45, after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Micah Kinsey with just less than 10 minutes left, and maintained a lead of 20 or more points until the final minute of action. |
|
| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Junior Tyrell Kirk scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and matched a career-high with seven 3-pointers as well. Kirk was 5-for-7 from the perimeter in the second half alone.
+ Senior Carson Mounce registered a career-best 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and also added a team-high seven rebounds as well. |
|
| NOTABLES |
+ The home team has now captured the last 10 regular season matchups in the series between the Braves and Francis Marion. The Braves were the last road team to win in the series via a 68-66 triumph on Jan. 14, 2015 in Florence.
+ UNCP's current five-game winning skein is its longest since the club rattled off eight-straight wins from November 17 to January 8 last season.
+ The Black & Gold has now tallied at least one block in each of its last 52 outings. UNCP registered a pair of blocks on Wednesday evening – the 29th-straight game that it has tacked up multiple swats. |
|
| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will pack up their show again on Saturday and head to Morrow, Ga., to take on Clayton State (3-15, 1-10 PBC) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader at The Loch. |
|
| 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. |
