FLORENCE, S.C. – The 16^th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team scored 22 points off of 17 Francis Marion turnovers and put together a big second half on the way to clinching at least a share of the 2019-20 Peach Belt Conference regular season title with a 94-60 victory over the Patriots on Wednesday in the Smith University Center.
 
It was the 16^th win in the last 18 outings for the Braves (22-5, 16-3 PBC) who have a chance to clinch the league title outright with a win over Georgia Southwestern on Sunday at home. The setback snapped a four-game home win streak in the series for the Patriots (4-22, 3-16) who had not lost to the Braves in Florence since Feb. 24, 2016.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: #16 UNC Pembroke 94, Francis Marion 60 RECORDS: #16 UNC Pembroke (22-5, 16-3 PBC); Francis Marion (4-22, 3-16 PBC) LOCATION: Florence, S.C. (Smith University Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Braves shot just 37.8 percent from the field in the opening half, but tallied 11 points off nine turnovers by Francis Marion to eventually take a 41-26 lead into the break. A nip-and-tuck game in the early going, Jordan Ratliffe's running jumper at the 15:14 mark sparked the Black & Gold on an 18-4 run over the next five minutes that gave the visitors a 14-point advantage, 21-7, by the midway point of the stanza.

2ND HALF

NCP converted nearly 49 percent of their field goal attempts in the latter stanza, and had pushed their lead out to 20 points by the first media timeout. Jabrie Bullard's 3-pointer at the 11:00 mark signaled the first of nine-straight points by the visitors that eventually stretched their lead out to 69-40 following a dunk from Micah Kinsey. UNCP led by as many as 36 points, 87-51, after two free throws by Carson Mounce with 2:34 left to play.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Jordan Ratliffe scored 12 of his game-best 17 points in the opening half, and keyed his big offensive night with a perfect 7-for-7 tally from the free throw line. + Juniors David Strother and Tyrell Kirk both added 13 points on the night. Kirk notched nine rebounds as well to flirt with another double-double. + Spencer Levi came off of the bench to register a dozen points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a 6-for-8 success rate from the charity stripe. + FMU's Winston Hill, who entered the game as the Peach Belt Conference's scoring leader at 21.2 points per game, finished with just five on Wednesday. He was held to just two points in the opening half.

NOTABLES

+ UNCP clinched at least a share of the 2019-20 PBC regular season championship with Wednesday's win. It is the third PBC regular season title in the last four seasons for the club. + The Braves can clinch their first outright PBC title with a win over Georgia Southwestern on Sunday at home. UNCP shared the PBC regular season title in both the 2016-17 (Augusta) and 2017-18 (Clayton State) campaigns. + Wednesday's victory by the Braves stopped a trend that had the home team winning the last 10 regular season matchups in the series. Prior to Wednesday's game, the last road win for either side was a 68-66 triumph by the Braves on Feb. 24, 2016. + Akia Pruitt inched closer to 1,000 rebounds with eight boards on Wednesday. The Winston-Salem native, who became the PBC's all-time rebounding leader earlier this season, needs just 11 more rebounds this season to reach the 1K plateau.

UP NEXT

The Braves will close the lid on the regular season portion of their 2019-20 schedule on Sunday when they take on Georgia Southwestern (10-15, 5-14 PBC) as part of a 12:30 p.m. Senior Day doubleheader at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The Black & Gold will honor its five-member senior class – Jabrie Bullard, Micak Kinsey, Akia Pruitt, Carson Mounce and Shaun Kirk – prior to tipoff.

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