Big run between defensive lapses leads Braves past Erskine

PEMBROKE — Through one early-game stretch Saturday against Erskine, and another in the second half, UNC Pembroke head basketball coach Drew Richards was clearly not pleased with his team’s effort, particularly on the defensive end.

But for a 15-minute span in between those two points, the Braves were quite strong on both ends.

It was that stretch that helped UNCP to build a lead as it opened Conference Carolinas play with a 94-64 home win over Erskine.

“You can’t choose when you talk on a basketball court. As soon as you stop talking the offense is going to take advantage of it,” Richards said. “So I thought the last 15 (minutes) of the first (half), and the first five or six (minutes) of the second, we were locked in and we were talking and jumping and we were in a stance off the ball, we were doing all those things that we practice every single day. And then we just decided not to do it.

Erskine (2-5, 0-1 CC) led 15-13 with 11:41 left in the first half, with the Flying Fleet going 6-for-9 from the field and Grant Lovette scoring 11 points in the stretch.

UNCP (3-4, 1-0 CC) then went on a 37-4 run that stretched into the early minutes of the second half.

It began with a 13-0 stretch as UNCP held Erskine without a point for 4 1/2 minutes to go up 26-15; the Braves got 3-pointers in the run from Ant Abraham, Josh Berenbaum and Quay Watson, who also hit a layup.

It was part of a breakout day for the Charlotte freshman Watson, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals, all career highs.

“I was just being comfortable doing whatever it takes to help my team win the basketball game,” Watson said. “It’s been quite an adjustment, but I feel like I’m adjusting well and I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing.”

“(Watson) has had to grow up quicker than a lot of freshmen that we’ve had, just because of the way our team is right now,” Richards said. “So kind of throwing him into the fire when we really didn’t expect that three or four months ago. So he’s done a good job embracing that role and being productive in that role.

Erskine hit two baskets to pull to a 26-19 gap, then was held scoreless again for nearly 10 minutes. UNCP finished the half on a 17-0 run to take a 43-19 lead at the break, with Bradlee Haskell scoring five points to lead the six Braves who scored in the span. Haskell finished with 17 points to lead the Braves and dished three assists.

“We knew they were going to play a pack line defense, so we just got the ball from one side to the next side and get the ball in the paint, and we just got good shots, and I just happened to knock them in,” Haskell said.

UNCP scored the first seven points of the second half as well, including two baskets from Joe’l Pettiford, to go up 50-19 before Erskine ended its drought with a Zion Brown triple. UNCP would take its largest lead at 61-28 with 14:01 to go, adding to the lead with four points in the stretch from Jonathan Kurtas and a Steven Lassiter basket.

Erskine, though, would close back to within 18 by going on a 19-4 run, making it 65-47 with 8:10 to go. Erskine was 6-for-8 from the floor including a pair of triples in the span, with Jayden Byrd leading the way with five points.

The struggles were made all the more baffling for Richards considering the Braves were just three days removed from a win over No. 9 Lincoln Memorial, which he referenced postgame.

“It’s one of those things that going into games, whether you’re playing against Lincoln Memorial or Erskine, you’ve got to have a championship level to you, a level of effort and focus, and we didn’t have it,” Richards said. “There were times where defensively we were comically bad. It’s extremely frustrating because I know what we’re capable of because we just did it.”

A Watson 3 and an Elijah Cobb layup stopped the Flying Fleet’s run and put UNCP up 70-47.

The Braves’ lead hovered around 20 points over the next few minutes until UNCP finished the game on a 14-4 run over the final 3:35, highlighted by the first collegiate basket for Pembroke native Connor Harris.

The Braves had 10 players score five points or more in the win. Richards was particularly pleased with Jonathan Kurtas, who scored seven points with seven rebounds in just 10 minutes, and Steven Lassiter, who had eight points with five rebounds and eight minutes.

“(Kurtas) just brings a lot of positive energy, he’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever been around and he makes these guys a lot more confident, he’s talking, he’s communicating, and he just played with a lot of effort tonight,” Richards said. “(Lassiter) has been playing really hard, and crashing the boards, making shots, he’s been much better defensively. … You continue to do these things, play with that chip and play as hard as you can, there’s going to be minutes that become available.”

Dallas Gardner scored 11 points with four rebounds for the Braves, Berenbaum scored nine points with five rebounds, Joe’l Pettiford flirted with a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds, JaJuan Carr scored eight points with four assists, Cobb scored six points with five rebounds and three assists and Abraham scored five points with four assists.

UNCP held a 51-27 rebounding advantage.

Lovette scored 17 points with five rebounds to lead Erskine, Christian Monroe scored 13 points and Byrd had 10 points.

UNCP will play its next three games on the road starting Tuesday at Belmont Abbey; they will also play Nov. 30 against Lees-McRae, who is using King’s facilities in Bristol, Tennessee in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and Dec. 7 at Mount Olive.

“We can’t be on the road at Belmont (Abbey) or at Mount Olive or wherever, Lees-McRae, and lose our focus,” Richards said. “It happens a lot faster on the road. … We use this as a way to learn that we’ve got to maintain a focus for 40 minutes, maintain an identity for 40 minutes, not 30 minutes, and if we can take that step forward, road or home, we should be able to have a good chance to compete and win.”