GREENVILLE, Tenn. – The 15^th-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team shot 50 percent from the field, but a jumper from Tusculum's Connor Jordan with three seconds remaining helped the Pioneers to a 81-80 victory over the Braves on Saturday inside the Pioneer Arena.
 
The Braves (2-3) fall to 1-3 when playing on the road this season and have dropped three out of their last four contests. The victory for the Pioneers (2-1) marked the first win against UNCP and was the team's best shooting performance on the season. 



 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Tusculm 81, #15 UNC Pembroke 80 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 2-3; Tusculum 2-1 LOCATION: Greenville, Tenn. (Pioneer Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

UNC Pembroke used a pair of Josh Berenbaum free throws to take an early 18-3 lead just six minutes into the contest. The Braves took what would be their largest lead of the afternoon, 35-19, with a layup from Elijah Cobb with five minutes left in the half. Tusculum closed out the half on a 13-6 run and a layup from KJ Crump at the buzzer sent the teams to the locker rooms with UNCP leading 41-32.

2ND HALF

A three from Bradlee Haskell padded the UNC Pembroke lead, 54-39, with 15:36 remaining in regulation. The Pioneers put together a 10-0 scoring run to cut their deficit back to 54-49 halfway through the period. Tusculum shot 58.3 percent from the field in the frame and knotted the score at 79 apiece with a trey from Bryce Jackson with 1:31 on the clock. Elijah Cobb made the one of two free throw attempts to give UNCP a one point lead, but Connor Jordan drained a jumper with three seconds remaining to fuel the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Elijah Cobb turned in a career-high performance with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The redshirt junior nearly registered a double-double with eight rebounds, and also had four assists and two steals.  + Newcomer Josh Berenbaum came off of the bench and had a career-high 19 points highlighted by a 6-for-10 shooting performance. Berenbaum pulled down three rebounds in 27 minutes of action.  + Bradlee Haskell added 15 points and was 5-for-8 from the free throw line. Haskell had four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 36 minutes of work.

NOTABLES

+ UNC Pembroke shot 72.4-percent from the free throw line with a 21-for-29 performance. However, Tusculum finished the contest with a 68.3-percent clip from the free throw line after making 28-of-41 attempts. + UNCP held the lead for nearly 39 minutes of the contest.  + The Black & Gold posted a 35-28 advantage in the rebound column.  + The Braves scored 22 points off of 20 Tusculum turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Braves will be back in action on Tuesday for their home opener when they welcome Fayetteville State to town. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tickets can be purchased by visiting UNCPBraves.com/Tickets.

STAY CONNECTED

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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.