YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The UNC Pembroke men's basketball shot better than 57 percent in the opening half and scored 20 of the game's first 22 points before hitting cruise control on the way to a 107-88 victory at Young Harris on Saturday afternoon inside the YHC Basketball Arena.
 
The result marked the third-straight victory for the Braves (9-3, 3-1 PBC) who canned a dozen 3-pointers in the outing, including eight in the first half alone. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Mountain Lions (2-9, 0-3) who have now dropped seven-straight matchups in the series with the Black & Gold.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 107, Young Harris 88 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (9-3, 3-1 PBC); Young Harris (2-9, 0-3 PBC) LOCATION: Young Harris, Ga. (YHC Basketball Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Braves converted eight of their first 12 field goal attempts and led 20-2 after Spencer Levi's dunk at the 13:08 mark. UNCP padded its lead out to 20 points, 27-7, on a layup from Jordan Ratliffe with 11:06 still left before the break. The visitors led by as many as 26 points, 33-7, following Tyrell Kirk's 3-pointer with 9-1/2 minutes remaining, and eventually took a 59-36 lead into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

UNCP converted on more than half (17-for-33) of their field goal attempts in the second half, but 12 turnovers in the stanza kept their advantage at a near standstill. The Braves led by a game-best 29 points, 78-49, after Jordan Ratliffe's 3-pointer with 13:20 left to play, but the Mountain Lions hung around and eventually used a 10-2 run to pull to within 12 points, 94-82, with four minutes remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Jordan Ratliffe scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half. Ratliffe was 5-for-8 from the field in the latter stanza, and canned all seven of his attempts from the charity stripe. + Senior Akia Pruitt tallied his 23rd career double-double (3rd of season) with 18 points and 11 rebounds. + Senior Jabrie Bullard came off of the bench to register 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 5-for-10 clip from the perimeter. It was the second time this season that Bullard has tallied five or more 3-pointers. + Junior David Strother flirted with a triple-double, but finished his day with 19 points, nine rebound and eight assists. + Senior Shaun Kirk reached a double-figure scoring number for the second time this season, adding 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves canned 10 or more 3-pointers for the fourth time this season, but the first since registering 15 treys in the win over Tusculum in mid-November. + UNCP has now connected on at least half of their field goal attempts in six contests this season. Saturday's outing marked the fourth time in the last six games that the Braves have accomplished that statistical feat. + The Braves reached the century mark in points for the first time this season, and the first time since a 105-81 win over Georgia College on March 6 of last season.

UP NEXT

UNCP will continue a three-game road trip on Thursday when they pack up their show and head to St. Augustine, Fla., to take on Flagler (6-5, 2-1 PBC) in the back half of a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader inside Flagler Gymnasium.

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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.