PEMBROKE — For the majority of Saturday’s Peach Belt Conference tilt with Columbus State, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke basketball team was in danger of snapping a 15-game home win streak.

But the visitors missed five of their last six free throws down the stretch, while the Braves calmly sank seven of their last eight to sneak away with a 71-64 victory.

UNCP (12-2, 7-1 PBC) guard and ex-Lumberton standout David Strother finished with a team-high 20 points, none bigger than the pair of foul shots that iced the game with just a few seconds remaining. Despite the absence of starting guard Tyrell Kirk, who missed his second straight due to concussion protocol, the pass-first guard stepped up into a new role.

The redshirt sophomore dropped 14 points in the second half, missed just one shot from the field and tied a season-high. Strother says the scoring outburst wasn’t premeditated.

“The final 20 minutes, I was just taking what [Columbus State] gave me. My teammates did a good job of finding me and I just tried to knock down the shots,” he said.

Strother found open looks from deep in the second half as a result of the defense’s willingness to give the Braves room due to their slow start from behind the arch. The team was 0-for-10 from downtown in the first half and the first triple didn’t come until Strother knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the second to put UNCP up 30-28.

Columbus State (7-7, 3-6 PBC) guard Jalen Thomas out-shot UNCP from distance by himself. He ended with a game-high 22 points, including a 4-for-5 shooting display from downtown after intermission. His third triple midway through the half gave the Cougars back the lead, 44-41. And his final trey was a bomb that tied the score at 62, with just 2:25 remaining.

Meanwhile, Xavier Williams and Landrius Horton combined for 31 points and helped stave off the Braves. Williams hit a short-range shot to give the Cougars their biggest lead, 20-14, with six minutes to go until halftime. Williams ended with 13 points, including one 3-pointer.

Horton did most of his work inside and thrived off putback chances. He ended with a double-double, 18 points and 13 rebounds, as 10 boards came on the offensive glass. With Horton leading the way, the Cougars were the second team to win the advantage on the boards against the Braves in the last three outings.

Miller boasts the second-ranked rebounding team in the nation and knows the group has a target on its back any time they step on the floor.

“That’s going to be a point of emphasis for whoever we play and Columbus State is one of those teams that’s big and athletic enough to battle inside,” he said of the rebounding woes. “Usually when we get out-rebounded like that we wake up at 6 a.m., but I made a double-or-nothing deal on the next [game], so we’ll see if they come through on Monday.”

Despite the disadvantage from the outside and on the glass, the Braves used their inside prowess, finishing with a 42-28 advantage in the paint.

Forwards Akia Pruitt and James Murray-Boyles combined for 25 points, with just one 3-pointer by Murray-Boyles in the second half. Spencer Levi had 13 points off the bench, all of which came within the 3-point arch.

Thomas only missed one triple, but it proved to be the biggest as his corner three-point attempt with 45 seconds left was just wide, missing the chance to take the lead.

Murray-Boyles followed by knocking down a pair of free throws then Pruitt did the same to extend the lead to 68-64.

Monday, UNCP returns to the hardwood looking to make good on the rebounding wager in a home matchup with last-place Georgia Southwestern.

Lady Braves shooting struggles lead to loss

The UNCP women’s basketball team had one of the worst shooting performances in recent history, connecting on just 21 percent of its shots en route to a 74-50 loss to Columbus State at home on Saturday.

The Lady Braves (4-10, 3-5 PBC) fell behind early, after converting just one field goal in the first quarter and never caught a rhythm as they trailed by 21 points at the half.

UNCP coach John Haskins thought the poor shooting was more of an aberration more than how the defense was playing them, but wanted to see better shot selection.

“I don’t think we were attacking the zone. When we got it inside, I don’t think we were aggressively taking it to the hole so we had to settle for perimeter shots,” he said after watching his group shoot 19 percent from distance.

Tee Graham went 1-for-3 from downtown and finished with eight points, and a team-high four assists and four steals. The team’s leading scorer, Melanie Horne, was just 1 of 5 from behind the arch, ending with five points and Brianna Baham had identical results from the floor.

ShaNiya Lester was the only Lady Braves player with double figures, getting her 10th point with an old fashioned three-point play that snipped a deficit that got as high as 26 points, as they trailed 62-40 with 4:48 left in the fourth.

The Lady Cougars had three double-digit scorers, paced by Tatiana Wayne who hit a trio of treys to end with a game-high 13 points. LeeAysia Williamson finished with 11 points off the bench and Tatum Jarvis chipped in with 10.

Haskins hopes the team can correct two facets of its game before the next conference matchup on Monday.

“I think being the aggressor…be aggressive offensively. The second thing is…we got to quit fouling. I think we got to do a better job of being more discipline defensively, keeping the ball in front of us,” he said.

UNCP Athletics Lady Braves guard ShaNiya Lester shoots during a 74-50 home loss to Columbus State on Saturday.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_UNCP_LESTER1-2.jpgUNCP Athletics Lady Braves guard ShaNiya Lester shoots during a 74-50 home loss to Columbus State on Saturday.

UNCP Athletics Braves guard David Strother sets up a play during a 71-64 home win over Columbus State on Saturday. The Lumberton native finished with a team-high 20 points.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_UNCPDAVIDSTOTHER-2.jpgUNCP Athletics Braves guard David Strother sets up a play during a 71-64 home win over Columbus State on Saturday. The Lumberton native finished with a team-high 20 points.
Strother leads the way with 20 for UNCP

By Donnell Coley

Staff writer

Donnell Coley can be reached at 910-416-5165 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @Sportsinmyveins.