BELMONT — The UNC Pembroke men’s basketball team was firing on all cylinders and shot a season-best 61.7 percent from the floor on the way to a 92-62 victory over Belmont Abbey on Tuesday inside the Wheeler Center.
The Braves (4-4, 2-0 CC) have now won their last three contests and have won the last three meetings against Belmont Abbey when playing inside the Wheeler Center. The Crusaders (0-1, 0-1 CC) fall to 16-27 all-time against UNCP.
UNC Pembroke took a double-digit lead, 20-10, after a running layup from Josh Berenbaum at the 13:35 mark of the first half. Belmont Abbey put together a 7-0 run to cut its deficit back to 22-17, but the Braves pushed their lead back out to 10 points, 30-20, with a Bradlee Haskell layup with 7:50 remaining in the half. The Crusaders chipped away at their deficit, 35-31, with a Jaden Peters jumper, but the Braves finished the half on a 10-2 run capped off with a triple from Dallas Gardner at the buzzer to send the teams to the locker rooms with UNCP leading 45-33.
A Dallas Gardner layup cushioned the UNC Pembroke lead, 47-33, just 30 seconds into the second half. Jordan Patton scored back-to-back baskets to trim the Belmont Abbey deficit back to 52-45, but UNCP stretched its lead out to 65-47 after a 13-2 surge capped off with a jumper in the paint from Elijah Cobb at the 13:19 mark. The Braves used a 15-4 surge to push their lead out to 80-51, following a layup from Ant Abraham with just under seven minutes on the clock. UNCP took its largest lead of the night, 90-57, with a triple from Quay Watson with 2:10 on the clock to help fuel the outcome.
Joe’l Pettiford finished with a career and game-high 20 points going 8-for-9 from the field. The newcomer tallied a double-double with 12 rebounds in 27 minutes of work. Berenbaum nearly posted a double-double with 15 points and eight rebounds. Gardner and Haskell each added 15 points; Haskell finished the night going 4-for-7 from the perimeter, while Gardner went 5-for-8 from the floor.
UNC Pembroke shot a season-high 61.7% from the floor, posted a 60-28 advantage with points in the paint and held a 40-22 advantage in the rebound column.
The Black & Gold picked up 30 points from its bench, highlighted by a 15-point showing from Berenbaum and nine points from Watson.
The Braves will be back in action on Saturday against Lees-McRae. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. inside the Student Center Complex in Bristol, Tennessee.
