PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke men’s basketball coach Ben Miller hasn’t been pleased with the way his prolific rebounding team had been getting worked on the boards as of late, so he made a deal with the players ahead of Monday’s Peach Belt Conference home matchup with Georgia Southwestern. If they won the advantage on the glass, they wouldn’t have to wake up at 6 a.m. to go through the drills that are normally required when an opponent out-rebounds them.
Paced by Spencer Levi’s 12 rebounds off the bench, the Braves were plus-eight on the boards and used a late surge to beat the Hurricanes 87-71.
“As soon as my number got called, I was ready to out there,” Levi said after posting a double-double in 21 minutes. “I came in for [James Murray-Boyles]…he’s one of the hardest workers on our team and I just wanted to come in and do my best to match his energy.”
It was Levis’ energy-boosting plays that helped UNCP (13-2, 8-1 PBC) create separation from a two-win team that wouldn’t lay down, despite numerous gut punches.
At the half, Levi had already collected six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end. His hustle allowed for six easy points and was the difference at the half as the Braves took a 39-34 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the lead dwindled down on multiple occasions, but Levi made sure the 17th straight home victory was secure by pulling down an offensive rebound and slamming it home to give the team its largest lead, 80-68, with just over two minutes remaining.
Levi finished with 14 points, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, which Miller says is a function of the team’s willingness to enforce their will in the paint.
“Well, second-chance shots are a big part of our offense,” he said. “But, it starts with…attacking and not settling, not playing around the fringes.”
Miller’s bunch finished with a dominating, 50-26 advantage in the paint and that resulted in a 53 percent clip from the field.
Akia Pruitt’s 15 points led five Braves players to reach double figures. Fellow forward, Murray-Boyles had 14 points and guards David Strother and Cam Hamilton combined for 22.
Georgia Southwestern (2-13, 0-9 PBC) was led by Quenten Taylor, who ended with a team-high 19 points. He gave the Braves’ defense all they could handle in the first 20 minutes, scoring 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor. Though he had a quiet second half, his layup with 16:25 left closed the gap to just one point, 43-42.
Andre Statam finished with 15 points and carried the offensive load for the Hurricanes in the final 10 minutes. Statam rattled off eight straight points and cut a double-digit deficit to four, 63-59, with 9:50 to go. He had three triples in the half, including a 3-pointer that narrowed the Braves’ lead to one again, 67-66, with 6:36 remaining.
The Braves answered Statam’s spurt with a 11-2 run that swelled the margin back to double digits, 78-68, with just over two minutes left.
UNCP finishes its homestand in grand fashion, taking on a team it shares the PBC lead with, USC Aiken, on Wednesday.
Lady Braves’ hot shooting ends Georgia Southwestern win streak
The Georgia Southwestern women’s basketball team brought its four-game win streak into Lumbee Bank Court on Monday against a UNCP squad coming off one of the worst shooting displays in school history.
The Lady Braves reversed their misfortunes against the Lady Hurricanes, shooting better than 59 percent from the floor en route to a 94-73 win.
Though the shooting percentage was the team’s best in over two decades and the point total was the highest in 16 seasons, UNCP (5-10, 4-5 PBC) coach John Haskins says the group showcased what they’re potentially capable of doing when connected.
“We tell our girls all the time to believe in their abilities even when they were struggling like they were on Saturday in the first half,” said Haskins. “I think this is…what could happen if we play to our capabilities.”
Junior Aliyah Farmer made all but one shot in the contest, going 9-for-10 from the field and scoring a season-high 20 points. Farmer scored just three free throws in the loss to Columbus State on Saturday and credits one word for the offensive outburst just two days later.
“Confidence,” she succinctly stated. “That’s my biggest thing right now is trying to gain confidence…and just do the little things.”
Farmer confidently dropped 15 points in the first two quarters, helping the Lady Braves take a 43-39 halftime lead. Near the end of the first quarter, her layup put the team ahead again, 22-21, after the Lady Hurricanes had used a 9-2 run to take the lead. Farmer beat the second-quarter buzzer by banking in a shot to gain the four-point advantage at the half.
Tee Graham matched Farmer’s output with 20 points of her own, while dishing a game-high 10 assists. She kicked it to an open Brianna Baham for a three-pointer that gave the group its first double-digit advantage, 57-46, with 4:50 remaining.
“Whatever I got to do to help my team, I’m going to do…so we can get the win,” Graham said.
In the fourth quarter, Graham’s scoring helped seal the victory. The junior scored 12 points in the final frame, including a 6-for-6 performance from the line. Her final pair of foul shots with 1:35 left, increased the margin to 92-67 and resulted in a curtain call as she exited the game.
