SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Bradlee Haskell’s pull-up jumper just 13 seconds into the afternoon gave the 5th-ranked UNC Pembroke men’s basketball team the lead for good as the Braves matched a school record with their 16th-straight victory with a 71-57 triumph at Converse on Saturday afternoon.
The Black & Gold (23-1, 15-1 CC) shot better than 59 percent from the field in Saturday’s win on the way to improving to 13-0 away from Pembroke this season, including an impressive 12-0 mark in true road games. The setback snapped a five-game win streak for the Valkyries (12-12, 10-6) who had their 10-game home win streak snapped in the process as well.
UNCP connected on 60 percent of its field goal attempts in the opening half, and scored nine of the game’s first 11 points before eventually taking a 39-25 advantage into the locker rooms. Converse cut into the early deficit and made it a two-possession game, 9-5, on a trio of free throws from Trey Smith at the 14:38 mark, but the visitors answered with an 18-4 run over the next eight minutes that was keyed by a 7-for-12 shooting clip, including a 3-for-5 mark from the perimeter.
Converse managed just a 32-percent shooting effort in the second half, but prevented the game from totally slipping away from it with an 8-for-9 performance at the free throw line. The Valkyries whittled a their halftime deficit down to just eight points, on Jordan Warlick’s 3-pointer five minutes into the latter stanza, but K.J. Walker’s 3-pointer on the other end of the court signaled the start of a 13-2 run that swung the momentum back to UNCP for good.
Sophomore Nygell Verdier tallied a team-best 12 points on 4-for-7 field goal shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Redshirt sophomore Elijah Cobb canned five of his six field goal attempts on the way to turning in 10 points. Cobb raked in seven rebounds on the afternoon as well.
Redshirt senior K.J. Walker and freshman Amare Miller both recorded 10 points apiece. Miller was 5-for-6 from the field in 17 minutes of action, while Walker complemented his points production with six assists.
The Braves matched last year’s squad for ownership rights to the longest win streak in the 84-year history of the program. This year’s team has tacked up 16-straight wins dating back to 72-56 home triumph over Emmanuel on December 3. Last year’s squad had their 16-game win streak snapped in a home loss to Southern Wesleyan.
Saturday’s victory marked the 22nd-straight win for the Braves in regular season road games – a streak that dates all the way back to November 30 of last season. UNCP is now 12-0 in true road games this season, and 13-0 overall in games played away from Pembroke.
The Black & Gold shot 59.2 percent from the field on Saturday, marking the 14th time this season that UNCP has canned at least half of its shot attempts. It is the third time in the last four games that the Braves have shot 56 percent or better from the field.
The Braves will be back at home again on Wednesday when they suit up to battle Conference Carolinas rival Barton (13-9, 11-4 CC) on Think Pink/Neon Night at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball rattles Converse
The UNC Pembroke women’s basketball team limited Converse to just nine points in the first three quarters on the way to a 52-25 victory against the Valkyries on Saturday afternoon inside the Tom & Tracy Hannah Gym.
The Braves (17-7, 14-2 CC) have now won their last five contests and have limited their opponents to just 32.9-percent shooting from the field. The setback for the Valkyries (4-19, 4-12 CC) have now last their last three contests and fall to 0-4 all-time against UNCP.
UNC Pembroke jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after a trey from Hannah Russell with 2:29 left in the opening period. Jordan Brown’s free throw was the only point for Converse, who were 0-for-9 from the field, as the Braves held an 11-1 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Braves scored the first seven points in the frame and extended their lead out to 18-1 after a jumper in the paint from Kelci Adams just three minutes into the stanza. Jordan Brown’s jumper in the paint marked the first bucket for the Valkyries, who shot just 7.1 percent during the quarter, and trailed 20-3 as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
Zaria Clark’s jumper to start the half as UNCP used a 7-0 scoring surge to pad its lead, 26-3, with 7:42 on the clock. Converse scored the next four points to chip away at its deficit, 28-7, but the Braves shot 75 percent from the field and closed the period out on a 16-2 run to hold a 44-9 lead heading into the final stanza.
Alcenia Purnell’s 3-pointer gave UNC Pembroke its largest lead of the afternoon, 47-9, with 9:46 left to play in regulation. The Valkyries used a 12-0 scoring run to cut their deficit back to 47-21 with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation, but were unable to recover from the deficit.
Courtney Smith logged a team-best 12 points on a 4-for-9 shooting performance. The redshirt junior just missed a double-double grabbing seven defensive rebounds in 27 minutes of work.
Zaria Clark also tallied double-figure scoring with 10 points. Clark finished with six rebounds and dished out four assists.
Lillian Flantos turned in a seven-point outing and finished with five boards.
Kelci Adams came off of the bench to add seven points and pull down three rebounds, while Hannah Russell also came off of the bench for a team-high seven rebounds.
UNC Pembroke limited Converse to just 17.8-percent shooting. The Valkyries scored in single digits in the first three quarters.
Saturday’s victory marked the fifth consecutive for the Black & Gold this season. The Braves improved to 4-0 all-time against Converse.
The Braves have now shot better than their last 11 opponents.
UNCP has also out rebounded their last four opponents.
The Black & Gold picked up 21 points from its bench and added 13 points off of turnovers.
The Braves will be back in action at home on Wednesday when they welcome Barton (7-14, 7-7 CC) to Pembroke for Think Pink Night. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
Braves baseball completes weekend sweep of Saint Anselm
The 13th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team pounded out 27 hits and scored 25 times on the way to taking both ends of a Saturday doubleheader with visiting Saint Anselm and completing a weekend sweep of the Hawks at Sammy Cox Field. The Black & Gold posted a 13-6 win in Saturday’s opener, and scored 10 unanswered runs in the nightcap on the way to a 12-2 rout.
UNCP (3-0) stayed perfect through three games for the ninth time in the last 11 years, while also stretching its home win streak out to 11 games as well. The Hawks (0-3), a regular in the Atlantic Region Top 10, are winless through three games for the second-straight year.
In the first inning of Saturday’s twin-bill opener, the Braves strung together four hits and took advantage of a costly throwing error by the visitors to plate three runs in the first. Christian Jayne led off the frame with a single and eventually scored on the errant throw, and Ethan Ott gave the hosts a 2-0 lead with a RBI double later in the frame. An ill-timed passed ball brought Kody O’Connor across the plate with the third run.
Ethan Ott finished game one with three hits and three RBIs, Christian Jayne had two hits and three runs, Jonathan Barham had two hits and two RBIs and Kody O’Connor had two hits and one RBI. Branden Kunz (1-0) was the winning pitcher.
Brady Doran had three hits and two RBIs for the Hawks, Matt Collins had two hits and two runs and Zack Clough scored three runs. Dallas Vaughan (0-1) took the loss.
In the nightcap, the Hawks loaded the bases with their first four at-bats in the second inning and took their first lead of the weekend thanks to a fielding error by the Braves moments later that brought all-region standout Mike Borrelli scurrying across home plate. Ben Rose’s 1-out RBI single later in the frame gave the visitors a two-run lead.
In the bottom of the second, UNCP juiced the bases with its first four at-bats in the home half of the second before Christian Jayne drew a 5-pitch walk to force a run across. Michael Kocen gave the Braves the lead for good via a two-run single in the next at-bat, while Joey Rezek (triple) and Ethan Ott (single) followed with run-scoring at-bats as well.
Michael Kocen had three hits and four RBIs for the Braves in game two, O’Connor had two hits with a home run and three RBIs and Joey Rezek and Will Hood each had two hits and two runs. Evan McLean (1-0) picked up the win.
Mike Pierro had a hit and a run and Ben Rose had a hit and an RBI for Saint Anselm. Avery Mosseau (0-1) was the losing pitcher.
UNCP will continue a season-opening 14-game home stand next weekend when they bunker down to take on IUP in a three-game series at Sammy Cox Field. The squadw will open up the weekend with a 3 p.m. contest on Friday.
Braves wrestling sweeps tri-meet with Emory & Henry, Mount Olive
The 18th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team logged 15 individual victories on the afternoon, including a dozen wins that came with bonus points, as the Braves cruised to wins over South Atlantic Conference Carolinas foes Emory & Henry and Mount Olive on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
The victories capped off another perfect home record for the Braves (12-1, 9-0 SACC) — their fourth unbeaten home record in the last five years — and set the Black & Gold up for a winner-take-all SACC championship match next week at No. 2 Lander. Both teams will enter the matchup with unblemished records inside league play.
Logan Robinson (133 pounds), Joshua Feliz (141), Loye Burkhead (157/165), Logan Hoffman (174) and Shylik Scriven (184) all walked away from Saturday’s action with a pair of individual victories, as did Garrett Steele (197) who chalked up a dual meet triumph against Emory & Henry, as well as an exhibition win against Mount Olive’s Devin McCorkle.
UNCP experienced very little resistance in opening the day with a 54-3 rout of Emory & Henry (4-25, 0-8), but the Wasps did take the early lead thanks to a 15-9 decision at 125 pounds. It was all UNCP after that, however, as the Braves got pins from five different wrestlers, as well as a trio of forfeit victories, to fuel the final outcome.
The Braves had to fend off an upset bid from the Trojans (12-5, 6-3) to post a 28-15 win in the nightcap, however. The Trojans took a quick 5-0 lead on the team scoreboard thanks to a 20-4 technical fall in the 125-pound matchup, but the Black & Gold stormed ahead for good on consecutive bonus point wins from Robinson (forfeit) and Feliz (pin). The Trojans cut their team deficit back to four points, 12-8, with a 4-0 decision by Dallas Wilson in the 149-pound bout, but the hosts answered with a first-period pin from Loye Burkhead at 157 pounds to separate themselves for good.
Braves swimming doubles up King
The 45th-ranked UNC Pembroke swimming team finished at the front of the pack in 11 events on the afternoon, including 10 individual disciplines, to more than double up King, 167-80, on Saturday afternoon in the Kingsport Aquatic Center.
The Braves (10-3) got multiple individual event titles from four different swimmers against the Tornado (1-6), while also eking out a win in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay to wrap up the day. Britta Schwengle picked up wins in both the 500- and 1650-yard Freestyle, while fellow freshman Mary Jensen touched ahead of the rest of the field in both the 50-yard Freestyle and 100-yard Backstroke.
Veterans Mariel Mencia Martinez and Ketlyn Rodriguez Matos climbed to the top of the podium in multiple events in northeastern Tennessee as well. Mencia Martinez edged out Schwengle for top honors in the 100-yard Freestyle, while also tacking up a nearly-5-second win in the 100-yard Butterfly. Rodriguez Matos was nearly two seconds better than the rest of the field in the 100-yard Breaststroke, and then edged our teammate Sarah Morden for first place in the 200-yard Breaststroke.
Freshmen Chiara Ambrosi (200-yard Individual Medley) and Rachel Carapella (200-yard Butterfly) both claimed individual event titles on the afternoon as well.
UNCP will be back in action again, Feb. 15-18, when they make a return trip to the Kingsport, Tenn., for the 2023 Conference Carolinas Championships. The Kingsport Aquatic Center will play host to that 4-day event as well.
Track & field has solid day at Camel City Invitational
Kendrick Lewis and Andrew Whitaker each logged a top-10 finish to highlight for the UNC Pembroke track & field teams on Saturday for the final day of the Camel City Invitational at the JDL Fast Track.
Lewis established a personal-best in Triple Jump with a mark of 13.38-meters for a sixth-place finish. Whitaker placed eighth in the Triple Jump with a leap of 12.85- meters, while Joshua Chepkesir crossed the finish line in 14th place of the 3000-meter Run.
On the women’s side, Julia Van Dine’s 800-meter time of 2:24.36 helped her to a 15th-place finish, while Alycia Artman finished in 18th-place in Shot Put with a toss of 11.00-meters.
The Braves will turn their attention to the NCAA DII Pre-Nationals meet set to begin on Feb. 10. The two-day meet will be held at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va.
