PEMBROKE — In seemingly every game of the young season, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke men’s basketball team has been tested.

Every time, so far, the Cardiac Braves have passed the test — often in narrow and nailbiting fashion.

The Braves are off to a 7-0 start, with five of those outcomes coming either by three points or less or in overtime, or both.

“I’ve been proud of us being able to fight back from adversity,” UNCP head coach Drew Richards said. “That’s something that we really challenged this team on, especially since it’s a young team. … I thought early on we actually struggled with that in practice and scrimmages, but when the games came, so far we’ve responded well to any adverse situation. Whether it’s the other team making a big shot, whether we get down, they seem to responding so far.”

The early-season run by the Braves has come, impressively, with a roster stocked heavily with newcomers and first-time starters. As that team continues to gel, the Braves have scored just 69.4 points per game, down from the 88.1 points per game scored by last year’s Conference Carolinas regular-season championship squad.

But defense and rebounding — longtime program staples under Richards, Tony Jones and Ben Miller alike — have keyed the team’s November success. The Braves have allowed just 63.6 points per game, the best total in Conference Carolinas and nearly a 10-point improvement from last year’s average, and have grabbed 41.0 rebounds per contest for a rebounding margin of plus-8.4. Each of those three figures is a top-40 mark nationally.

“I think the thing that has been keeping us in games has been our defense and rebounding,” Richards said. “Those have probably been the most consistent aspects of our team thus far. Now, offensively, to put it plainly, we’re not very good right now; we have to get better in that aspect.”

The run of close calls hit two crescendos over the weekend during the VSU Thanksgiving Classic in Petersburg, Virginia, as the Braves won both on a go-ahead shot in the final seconds. In Saturday’s 62-60 win over Shaw, Cortez Marion-Holmes got an offensive rebound and putback with 0.8 seconds remaining.

A day later, the Braves beat host Virginia State 61-58 when K.J. Walker hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to go. That game-winner came after the Braves overcame a 12-point deficit early in the second half, and VSU’s Terrence Hunter-Whitfield hit a game-tying layup with 26 seconds left.

“I’m proud we’ve been able to find a way to finish at the end,” Richards said. “I told them at the end of the game, I think right now, so far we’re very synchronized and engaged defensively and rebounding for the most part … I’m very proud of how well we responded and how we’ve been able to finish a lot of these close games against really good teams.”

The theme of close victories began quickly when the season began. The Braves beat Newberry 74-66 in overtime in the season opener Nov. 12 after the Wolves’ QuanDaveon McCollum made a game-tying shot at the regulation buzzer; the Braves outscored Newberry 13-5 in overtime. A day later, the Braves defeated Catawba 74-73 after the Indians’ Javeon Jones missed a final-second free throw.

A second overtime win came Nov. 19 at Columbus State, a 75-72 result propelled by the Braves’ 5-for-6 mark at the free-throw line in the extra session.

Only two games have not come down to the final moments. The Braves beat Fayetteville State 68-58 on the road Nov. 16, overcoming a five-point deficit early in the second half with a 22-2 run to take the lead and pull away. The Braves’ only game with little drama — no late-game theatrics and no comeback required — was a 72-58 home win over St. Augustine’s on Nov. 22.

As a result, the Braves earned a No. 9 national ranking in last week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, a ranking that could potentially improve when new rankings are released Tuesday to reflect the last week of games.

Returning guards Bradlee Haskell (14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds per game) and Javonte Waverly (10.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists) and junior-college transfer guard JaJuan Carr (9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists) and post Elijah Cobb (8.1 points, 6.7 rebounds) have led the way for the Braves, with nine players earning significant minutes and all nine averaging at least 5.0 points per game.

As strong as last year’s veteran-laden Braves team was, their four-game winning streak to start the season has been surpassed by this year’s edition. That team, though, went on a 16-game winning streak after its first loss, a Thanksgiving-week defeat at Emmanuel, to start 20-1; there’s still plenty of work to be done if this year’s Braves want to match that stellar mark.

Richards hopes that as games continue, including Wednesday’s 7 p.m. tipoff against Francis Marion in Pembroke, the Braves can improve their offensive performance to a level where they won’t find themselves in so many close games late, but instead can win games with comparatively more ease.

“I think we have good basketball players that know how to play the game and are confident in their abilities, and we’re confident in their abilities, but it hasn’t meshed (offensively) from the team aspect thus far,” Richards said. “If we can do a better job, if we can take big steps offensively, as individuals and as a team, hopefully, optimistically, we won’t be put in as many of those situations as we move into the heart of conference play.”

If the Braves can, in fact, “figure it out” on the offensive end, it could be scary for everybody else. They’re already winning in every tight spot they’ve been put in.