BELMONT – The 22^nd-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team shot better than 42 percent from the field and led for more than 39-1/2 minutes, but home-standing Belmont Abbey took its first lead of the afternoon on a 3-pointer from Sean Halloran with just less than 10 seconds to play and held on to upset the Braves, 68-67, on Saturday inside the Wheeler Center.
 
The setback spoiled the head coaching debut for skipper Drew Richards who took the reins of the Braves (0-1) in March after five seasons as an associate head coach with the Black & Gold, as well as one season at the helm of the Lander Bearcats. The Crusaders (1-0) have now captured four of the last five series matchups with the Braves in the Wheeler Center.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Belmont Abbey 68, #22 UNC Pembroke 67 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (0-1); Belmont Abbey (1-0) LOCATION: Belmont, N.C. (Wheeler Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

UNCP scored the first 12 points of the afternoon and led 18-4 after an old-fashioned 3-point play from freshman Trenton McIntyre at the 13:54 mark. That would be the biggest lead of the afternoon for the visitors who eventually lugged a 25-14 advantage into the locker rooms.

2ND HALF

The hosts had whittled their deficit down to just six points by the first media timeout, but the Braves used a 7-0 scoring spurt to push their lead back out to a baker's dozen, 49-36, on the heels of a pair of free throws from McIntyre three minutes later. The Crusaders put together a 15-6 run to pull to within a lone possession, 62-60, with 4:14 to play. The Braves went back out in front by five points following two free throws from Jordan Ratliffe with 2:17 remaining, but missed their last three field goal attempts, including two in the final three seconds.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Tyrell Kirk scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, and finished the afternoon with three assists, two steals and a rebound as well. + Junior Jordan Ratliffe added 13 points and two boards, including a 6-for-6 clip from the charity stripe. + Seven newcomers saw action for the Braves on Saturday, including redshirt freshman Cortez Marion-Holmes who registered six points and two rebounds as a part of the starting lineup. True freshman Trenton McIntyre came off of the bench to tally seven points. + Redshirt sophomore Dewan Lesesne earned his first start of his still-young career. Lesesne turned in two points, two boards and a pair of steals.

NOTABLES

+ Saturday's matchup marked the first meeting between the two programs since a 100-87 home victory for UNCP on Nov. 16, 2013. It was the first series matchup in the Wheeler Center since Nov. 16, 2010. + The setback snapped a four-game win streak for the Braves in season openers, and marked the first loss in such matchups since a 101-94 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne that opened the 2015-16 campaign. The Braves are now 14-15 in season openers since joining the NCAA Division II ranks prior to the 1992-93 season. + The result also broke a two-game win streak for UNCP in road openers. The Braves had won six of its last seven road openers heading into the weekend.

UP NEXT

UNCP will lift the lid on its Peach Belt Conference schedule on Wednesday when it treks to Morrow, Ga., to take on Clayton State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at The Loch.

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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.