GREENWOOD, S.C. – The 17^th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team turned 17 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points and used a big run late in the second half to pull away for good on the way to a key 81-66 win at upset-minded Lander on Wednesday evening.
 
It is the 13^th win in the last 14 outings for the Braves (19-4, 13-2 PBC) who matched an NCAA Division II era record with their ninth-straight victory as well. The setback marked the second loss in the last three outings for the Bearcats (17-6, 11-4) who have now dropped nine of the last 10 matchups in the series with UNCP.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: #17 UNC Pembroke 81, Lander 66 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (19-4, 13-2 PBC); Lander (17-6, 11-4 PBC) LOCATION: Greenwood, S.C. (Horne Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The opening period produced five lead changes and seven tie scores as both sides shot better than 48 percent from the field. The Bearcats opened up a five-point lead, 14-9, following a 3-pointer from Sidney Robinson at the 15:01 mark, but the Braves answered with eight-straight points and eventually grabbed a 17-14 advantage on Tyrell Kirk's 3-pointer nearly four minutes later. The hosts retook the lead thanks to six-straight points later in the stanza, but it would be the Braves that inevitably lugged a 39-36 lead into the locker room.

2ND HALF

The Braves converted on 17 of their 31 field goal attempts in the second half, and keyed the final result with a 5-for-6 mark from the perimeter. Lander trailed by eight points, 45-37, with 15:40 left to play, but tacked up eight consecutive points to knot the score back up three minutes later. UNCP maintained the momentum, however, and used a jumper from Akia Pruitt with 6:33 left in regulation to spark a game-changing 18-6 run over the next four minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior David Strother scored 13 of his team-best 16 points in the second half. The Lumberton native registered 6-for-7 shooting in the latter stanza, and finished his night with a trio of assists as well. + Junior Spencer Levi came off of the bench to put up 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while also adding six rebounds. + Junior Tyrell Kirk posted 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes of action. He connected on all three of his 3-point attempts on Wednesday. + Seniors Akia Pruitt and Jabrie Bullard both tallied 10 points. Pruitt also logged seven rebounds and the only block of the game for the Black & Gold.

NOTABLES

+ UNCP has now captured 12 of its last 13 outings dating back to mid-December. That includes a current nine-game win streak which matches the longest winning skein in the NCAA Division II era of the program. + The Braves won the rebounding battled (34-25) against Lander for the second time this season. The Bearcats came into the game with a PBC-best rebounding margin, and had won the rebounding battle in 20 of their previous 22 contests. + Akia Pruitt's block with 33 seconds left in the first half helped keep a streak alive that has UNCP registering at least one block in each of its last 117 games.

UP NEXT

UNCP will close out its three-game road trip on Saturday when it heads to Georgia to take on league nemesis Augusta (16-7, 11-4 PBC) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader inside Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jaguars won their fifth-straight game with an 87-67 victory at Francis Marion on Wednesday.

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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.