UNCP Athletics

Southern Wesleyan SWU 19-10

UNC Pembroke UNCP 26-2

Southern Wesleyan SWU

19-10

Final

Mar. 05, 2022

UNC Pembroke UNCP

26-2

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Southern Wesleyan SWU	36	30	66
UNC Pembroke UNCP	25	42	67

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | March 5, 2022 | Todd Anderson, Associate AD/Strategic Initiatives

No. 8 Men’s Basketball Survives, Advances To Title Game

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Davion Bradford gave fourth-seeded Southern Wesleyan a 16-point lead on a 3-pointer with 14:22 left to play, but the top-seeded UNC Pembroke men's basketball team turned the table with a 20-4 run, and exhaled as a buzzer-beating perimeter attempt from Quinian Reeves clanged off the iron, to fuel a 67-66 win over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.

It was the sixth-straight win for the Braves (26-2) who now advance through to Sunday's championship round where they will take on third-seeded Belmont Abbey (20-9) who upset second-seeded Emmanuel later Saturday. The setback likely ended the season for Southern Wesleyan (19-10) who dropped a pair of contests to the Black & Gold this season by a combined five points.

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 67, Southern Wesleyan 66
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 26-2; Southern Wesleyan 20-9
LOCATION: Spartanburg, S.C. (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

UNCP converted on exactly half of its 20 field goal attempts in the opening half, but the Braves shot just 4-for-9 (.444) from the free throw line and committed a dozen turnovers to handicap the offensive effort. The Warriors scored 11 points off turnovers alone in the opening stanza, and eventually took a 36-25 lead into the halftime break.

2ND HALF

Southern Wesleyan tacked up eight-straight points early in the second stanza, and eventually pushed its lead out to 49-33 on Davion Bradford's 3-pointer at the 14:22 mark. That trey would prove to be a wake up call for the Braves, however, as the Black & Gold put together a 20-4 run over the next six minutes before knotting the game up at 53 apiece on a lay-in from Jordan Ratliffe with 7:40 to play. A back-and-forth affair for the rest of the way out, Tyrell Kirk put the Black & Gold ahead for good on a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left, and Quinian Rieves was unable to come up with the winning shot at the other end of the court.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Tyrell Kirk led UNCP with 19 points on 6-of-12 field goal shooting, while also adding eight rebounds and three assists as well.
+ Senior Spencer Levi chipped in 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and barely missed his 13^th double-double of the season with nine rebounds. Levi also added two blocks and a steal.
+ Senior Deon Berrien contributed nine points and seven boards to the cause. He collected the key rebound with 28 seconds left that led to Tyrell Kirk's go-ahead free throws.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves improved to 9-2 in conference tournament openers since the 2015-16 campaign, and have now tacked up six-straight wins in conference tournament openers.
+ UNCP advanced to the championship game of a conference tournament for the third time in the last six full seasons. The Braves are 7-4 all-time in conference tournament championship games, including eight appearances (5-3) in the Carolinas Conference/Conference Carolinas Tournament championship game.
+ The Black & Gold won the rebounding battle on Saturday, 46-29, including a 28-14 disparity in the second half.

UP NEXT

An automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament will be on the line on Sunday when the top-seeded Braves battle third-seeded Belmont Abbey (20-9) in the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship game. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. Their opponent will be announced at a later date. Get your tickets ahead of time by visiting ConferenceCarolinas.com/Tickets.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow UNCP Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Men's Basketball on Facebook.

BACK THE BRAVES

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.

Print Friendly Version