UNCP basketball splits at Emmanuel

Feb. 5—FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. — The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team used a dominating third quarter and had three players score in double-figures on the way to a key 58-51 Conference Carolinas victory against Emmanuel on Saturday afternoon inside the Shaw Athletic Center.

The victory for the Braves (15-6, 10-2 CC) have now won their last three contests and improve to 4-2 against Emmanuel. The setback for the Lions (13-7, 9-3 CC) marked just the second loss in the last seven games for the team and was just their

Emmanuel took an early 8-2 lead following a layup from a Sydney Wyatt layup two minutes into the game. UNC Pembroke used a 7-0 surge to take a 9-8 lead with a jumper from Zaria Clark at the 4:20 mark, but the hosts answered with a 7-0 run to lead15-9 with 1:19 on the clock. The Lions shot 50% from the field and held a 1-12 lead headed into the second period.

Emmanuel took what would be its largest lead on the afternoon, 22-14, with a layup from Ade'jah James with 7:33 left to play in the half. A 10-2 UNCP run capped off with a triple from Aniah McManus tied the score at 24 apiece with 2:44 on the clock. McManus knocked down a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the half to give the Braves a slight 30-27 advantage, but Emmanuel made good on a pair of free throws to send the teams to the locker rooms with UNCP holding a 30-29 lead.

UNC Pembroke started the second half on a 5-2 run to cushion its lead, 35-31, with a three from the top of the key from Lillian Flantos three minutes into the period. The Lions knotted the score at 35 apiece, but Malea Garrison got the offense going on a 12-4 run to close the quarter as UNCP held a 47-39 lead heading into the final stanza.

The hosts used back-to-back triples to cut their deficit back to 47-45 just 40 seconds into the period, but a three from Hannah Russell and a layup fastbreak layup from Kalaya Hall gave UNC a 52-45 advantage with 7:42 left in regulation. Clark canned a pair of buckets to pad the UNCP lead, 56-47, halfway through the quarter. The Braves took their largest lead of the afternoon, 58-49, after a Hall layup with two minutes left on the clock.

Russell came off of the bench and scored a team-high 14 points on a 5-for-7 shooting performance. The Burlington native grabbed a pair of rebounds and dished out one assist.

Hall added 11 points and pulled down two rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

McManus nearly recorded a double-double with eight points and a career-high nine assists. McManus also pulled down six rebounds and had three steals in 36 minutes of action.

UNC Pembroke shot 39.0% from the field, highlighted by a game-high 54.5% shooting in the third quarter.

The Braves connected on 5-for-9 of their attempts from the free throw line. However, Emmanuel shot 26 free throws and made good on 16 of those attempts.

UNCP scored 19 points off of 22 Emmanuel turnovers. The Braves also limited the Lions to just one steal which was a season-low.

The Braves will step out of Conference Carolinas competition and welcome Elizabeth City State to Pembroke on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

Braves men fall to Lions

Emmanuel shot 50.9% from the field and held the lead for 91.5% of the contest on its way to a 78-67 victory over the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon inside the Shaw Athletic Center.

The setback for the Braves (16-5, 10-2 CC) snapped a three-game winning streak and are 0-3 when playing Emmanuel in Georgia. The Lions (19-4, 11-1 CC) have now won their last 10 contests and improve to 9-1 when playing at home.

Emmanuel opened the contest on a 15-2 run that stretched to the 14:11 mark with a layup from Kendall Latney. UNC Pembroke put together a 6-0 run trim its deficit back to 20-12 with 6:27 on the clock, but the hosts answered with the next four points. Nygell Verdier canned a jumper in the paint and then knocked down a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left to chip away at the UNCP deficit 32-28, but Emmanuel shot 56.0% from the floor in the half and held a 34-28 advantage as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

UNC Pembroke scored the first seven points of the half and used and old-fashioned three-point play from Elijah Cobb to take a 35-34 lead with 17:15 on the clock. The Braves took what would be their largest lead of the night, 43-41, with an Amare Miller dunk at the 14 minute mark, but the Lions made good on a pair of three-pointers to lead 47-43 with 13 minutes left to play. Emmanuel extended its lead back out to double-digits 60-50, after seven made free throw attempts from KJ Jones. JaJuan Carr's layup trimmed the UNCP deficit back to 60-54 with 7:50 on the clock, but the hosts put together a 15-5 run to take a 75-60 lead with 2:33 remaining in regulation.

Verdier registered a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The junior also dished out five assists and had one steal in 37 minutes of work.

Bradlee Haskell added 11 points on a 5-for-13 shooting night. Haskell grabbed five rebounds and had a trio of assists.

Carr chipped in 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of work.

UNC Pembroke shot 39.1% from the field during Saturday's game. It is the second time in the last three games UNCP has shot under 40%.

The Braves were just 19% from the perimeter with four made 3-pointers. The performance marks the lowest shooting percentage from the perimeter this season.

The Black & Gold held a 20-8 advantage on second chance points and a 44-38 advantage with points in the paint.

Emmanuel scored 14 points from 10 UNC Pembroke turnovers.

The Braves will return to action on Saturday when they welcome Erskine to Pembroke. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.