MORROW, Ga. – The 22^nd-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team shot nearly 56 percent from the field and turned 17 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points to key a 93-72 victory at Peach Belt Conference rival Clayton State on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Spencer Levi scored a career- and game-best 25 points and notched his fourth career double-double with a career-best 16 rebounds as well, while fellow senior Tyrell Kirk became the 38^th member of the 1,000-Point Club for UNCP (1-1, 1-0 PBC) by adding 24 points. It was the fourth-straight home loss for Clayton State (0-1, 0-1 PBC) in the series with the Black & Gold.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: #22 UNC Pembroke 93, Clayton State 72 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (1-1, 1-0 PBC); Clayton State (0-1, 0-1 PBC) LOCATION: Morrow, Ga. (The Loch)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

A free throw from redshirt freshman Cortez Marion-Holmes just 2-1/2 minutes into the contest signaled the first of six-straight points by the Braves that helped provide some breathing room early, but it was an 8-0 scoring spurt in the waning minutes of the opening half that eventually gave the visitors a 42-31 advantage heading into the intermission. The Black & Gold shot 58.1 percent (18-for-31) from the field in the first half, including a 4-for-7 mark from the perimeter.

2ND HALF

Clayton State made it a two-possession game, 48-42, on Jordan Walker's 3-pointer at the 16:59 mark, but a pair of free throws from sophomore Dewan Lesesne three minutes later ignited a 13-5 scoring run that gave UNCP a double-digit lead for good. Kirk scored hit the 1,000-point plateau for his career on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 6:53 to play, and then pushed the Braves over the 90-point plateau in the contest on a jumper with 1:29 left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Tyrell Kirk became the 38th member of the program's 1,000-Point Club with a 24-point afternoon, while also adding four steals and a pair of blocks. The performance marked his second (7th career) 20+-point performance in as many games. + Senior Spencer Levi led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 12-of-14 field goal shooting, highlighted by 7-for-8 shooting in the second half alone. Levi also registered a career-best 16 rebounds to notch his fourth career double-double as well. + Newcomer Cortez Marion-Holmes pushed in a career-high 12 points, while also tallying his first career double-double with 11 boards as well. + Junior Jordan Ratliffe cashed in on 17 points in 29 minutes of action, including a trio of 3-pointers.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves have now captured four of their last five Peach Belt Conference openers. Wednesday's result also gave the Black & Gold its fifth-straight win in league road openers as well. + UNCP posted a 49-21 advantage in the rebounding column against the Lakers to post its most dominant performance on the boards since posting a +35 margin in the rebounding column against Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in the 2013-14 season opener. + Wednesday's result marked the first UNCP head coaching victory for Drew Richards. Richards took over the reins of the program in March after leading Lander to the PBC Tournament championship last season. Prior to that, he served as associate head coach of the Braves from 2014-19.

UP NEXT

The Braves will open up the home portion of their 2020-21 schedule on Saturday when they play host to league rival Columbus State (0-0, 0-0 PBC) in the back half of a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The game will be a closed event and no spectators will be admitted.

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