MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State held the visiting UNC Pembroke men's basketball team to a season-low 38.4 percent shooting effort, but the Braves pulled down 19 offensive rebounds and used a key 16-4 run late in the first half to fuel an 85-74 win over the Lakers on Saturday afternoon at The Loch.
 
It was the 10^th victory in the last 11 outings for the Braves (16-4, 10-2 PBC) who have now strung together six consecutive victories after Saturday's win as well. The setback marked the sixth-straight loss for the Lakers (3-16, 1-11) who fell to 1-7 at home this season with the loss as well.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 85, Clayton State 74 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (16-4, 10-2 PBC); Clayton State (3-16, 1-11 PBC) LOCATION: Morrow, Ga. (The Loch)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Braves shot just 39.5 percent from the field in the opening half, but hauled in nine offensive rebounds in the stanza and scored more than half of their points in the paint. A back-and-forth game for much of the first 12-1/2 minutes, Carson Mounce's jumper at the 7:24 mark sparked the Braves on a game-changing 16-4 run that eventually gave them a 36-22 advantage five minutes later. The visitors would eventually lug a 39-26 lead into the intermission.

2ND HALF

The Lakers shot nearly 52 percent from the field in the second half, including a 6-for-12 clip from the perimeter, to make things interesting. UNCP led by as many as 21 points, 54-33, following Akia Pruitt's rebound and ensuing dunk with 16:55 to play, but the Lakers steadily chipped away at their deficit and made it an 11-point game, 60-49, on Bryan Hart's trey six minutes later. Clayton State eventually pulled to within seven points, 81-74, on a pair of free throws from Kyle Kincey with 35 seconds left, but UNCP canned all four of its free throw tries to provide the outcome..

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Spencer Levi flirted with his fourth career double-double, but finished with a season-best 21 points and nine rebounds. He also added a pair of blocks. + Senior Akia Pruitt just missed a double-double as well, but still turned in 14 points, nine rebounds and a trio of steals. + Junior Tyrell Kirk added 13 points, including a 4-for-4 clip from the free throw line. He also turned in three rebounds and four steals. + Junior David Strother and senior Carson Mounce both finished with 10 points. Strother tallied three assists and two steals as well.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves matched a season-best (Georgia Southwestern) with 19 offensive rebounds on Saturday, and turned those into 19 second chance points. + UNCP has now tasted victory in 10 of its last 11 outings dating back to a 98-74 win over Clayton State on December 19. The Braves are 5-0 at home over that stretch, but have now won three-straight games away from Pembroke.

UP NEXT

UNCP will make a brief home appearance on Wednesday when it returns to Pembroke to take on Flagler (11-9, 7-5 PBC) as part of Think Pink Night at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Saints beat visiting Georgia College by 21 points (79-58) earlier on Saturday.

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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.