PEMBROKE – The 15^th-ranked and top-seeded UNC Pembroke men's basketball team used a 12-4 run late in the first half to pull away from eighth-seeded North Georgia for good, and then used red-hot shooting in the second half to fuel a 90-62 rout of the Nighthawks in the quarterfinal round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament on Wednesday evening.
 
The result helped UNCP (24-5) extend its home win streak out to nine games, while also giving the Braves a semifinal date on Saturday with fifth-seeded Columbus State in Greenwood, S.C. It was the fourth loss in the last five outings for North Georgia (14-15) who have not won in Pembroke since the 2009-10 campaign.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: #15 UNC Pembroke 90, North Georgia 62 RECORDS: #15 UNC Pembroke (24-5); North Georgia (14-15) LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

Ephraim Tshimanga gave the first half its fourth tie score on a layup with 6:51 left before the break, but a short jumper by Akia Pruitt on the other end of court sparked a 12-4 run for the hosts that eventually gave them a 33-24 advantage five minutes later. The Nighthawks would tack up the final three points of the stanza to trim their deficit back to 33-27 heading into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

The Braves converted on 52.6 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half and led by as many as 34 points, 90-56, following Dewan Lesesne's free throw with just more than a minute left. UNCP pushed its lead out to double digits for the first time on a rare 4-point play by Tyrell Kirk just 24 seconds into the second half, and then padded its lead out to 21 points, 54-33, on Akia Pruitt's jumper at the 12:51 mark.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Akia Pruitt scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while also notching seven rebounds to take him over the 1,000-rebound plateau for his career. + Junior Spencer Levi came off of the bench to register 15 points on a perfect (5-for-5) night from the field. He also added six rebounds, two assists and one block in 20 minutes of action. + Senior Shaun Kirk came off of the bench to score 14 points, including a career-high four made 3-pointers. Kirk also added a thunderous one-handed dunk midway through the second half. + Junior Tyrell Kirk turned in 13 points and four assists, while backcourt mate David Strother put up 12 points, four assists and a quartet of rebounds.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves have now won eight of their last nine games in PBC Tournament play dating back to the 2016-17 season. Wednesday's victory also helped the Black & Gold improve to 5-1 at home in the league's postseason event. + UNCP has now taken 12 of the last 14 matchups in the series with North Georgia – a run that dates back to the 2011-12 campaign. The Braves are 8-0 at home against the Nighthawks over that stretch. + The Black & Gold has now won each of its last five PBC Tournament openers.

UP NEXT

UNCP will make an appearance in the semifinal round of the PBC Tournament for the fourth-straight year on Saturday when it battles fifth-seeded Columbus State (17-12) inside Lander University's Horne Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for noon. The Cougars provided one of two upsets in Wednesday's quarterfinal round when they knocked off fourth-seeded USC Aiken, 87-65.

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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.