PEMBROKE — As a comfortable lead disappeared, and the game came down to the final few plays, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke men’s basketball team’s game Tuesday against Fayetteville State felt similar to the Braves’ one-point loss Saturday at Tusculum.

But the outcome was ultimately different this time, with the Braves earning an 81-77 win over their northern neighbors.

“We were able to get a stop when we needed it, finished it with a rebound and Javonte (Waverly) hit some big free throws there,” UNCP coach Drew Richards said. “(Bradlee Haskell) hit a 3, Javonte hit some big free throws and Elijah (Cobb) made some big plays — these guys have won a lot of games. They were able to find a way to gut it out at the end.”

Haskell gave the Braves (3-3) a 76-75 lead by hitting two free throws with 1:02 to go before Tairell Fletcher hit a layup to give Fayetteville State (2-4) a 77-76 lead with 44 seconds left. Haskell then swished a 3 from the left elbow, assisted by Cobb, giving UNCP a 79-77 lead with 24.2 seconds to go, an advantage the Braves never gave back.

“Coach had called in a play that we run — we actually just put it in a couple of days ago,” said Haskell, who scored a team-high 18 points with seven assists. “And we got the switch that we wanted and it just turned out I was open, so I just knocked the shot in. I’ve shot that shot probably a thousand times, so I just knock it in with confidence.”

“It’s just a big time player making a big time play,” Richards said. “Brad’s known to make some big shots and have the confidence to do it. I’m equally as proud of him making that 3 as I am of him having seven assists and two turnovers.”

Cobb’s assist on the Haskell triple was his sixth of the game, setting a career high to go along with eight points and eight rebounds. Some of the Braves’ best offense on the night went through Cobb in the post, passing the ball to his teammates on the perimeter.

“When I get it down there, I’m just looking to be patient and see what I can do, and find shooters, or whatever I can to make the right play — that’s what I’m known for,” Cobb said.

After Haskell’s shot, Tairell Fletcher missed a jumper for FSU that would have tied the score, and the rebound bounced out of bounds off the Broncos. JaJuan Carr went to the line for a 1-and-1 for UNCP, missing the front end, but the Braves’ Javonte Waverly got an offensive rebound and hit two free throws for the 81-77 lead with 6.7 seconds to go.

“I think at the very end we were able to get stops,” Richards said. “We have not done a good job of that, and we didn’t do a good job of that in the second half — the percentages that Fayetteville State shot are obscene almost. So we were able to get a stop and a rebound, which was clutch, even after a couple of tough turnovers.”

UNCP built a 61-47 lead with 11:58 to go with a 9-0 run, sparked by back-to-back baskets from Jamarvious Jones and a dunk by Waverly. But FSU outscored the Braves 28-13 over the next 10 1/2 minutes, making three 3s in the span, to take the 75-74 lead it held before Haskell’s free throws with just over a minute remaining.

The Broncos shot 52.0% (13-for-25) overall and 55.6% (5-for-9) from 3 in the second half.

“Coming into the game, when a team is shooting sub-30% from 3 … we really wanted them to shoot more 3s than they’re accustomed to. We didn’t think they’d make as many,” Richards said. “I thought down the stretch they settled for a couple bad 3s that they air-balled, and I thought that was because they were kind of falling in love with it.”

The Broncos’ second-half charge continued a trend by Braves opponents so far this season — one which Richards called “mind-boggling” after last year’s Braves team, made up of primarily the same players, was a good second-half team.

“The absurdity that teams are shooting — I think they’re shooting 56% in the second half of our losses,” Richards said. “It’s an adjustment for me as a coach — I’m open to suggestions right now for how to get us a little more locked in in the second half. It’s funny having almost the same players and now having a different dynamic.”

Waverly finished with 15 points for UNCP, JaJuan Carr had 11 points and Jones scored 10.

Myles Pierre had 21 points with five 3s for the Broncos, Tyler Foster scored 18 points with five rebounds, Fletcher had 12 points, D’Marco Baucum had 11 points with six rebounds and Caleb Simmons scored 10 points.

Fayetteville State led 17-16 after an evenly played first eight minutes. Waverly hit two triples for UNCP to kickstart a 14-1 run that gave the Braves a 30-18 lead with 7:39 left in the half. The Broncos answered with a 16-5 run to pull to a 37-36 deficit with 1:23 left in the period, behind eight points in the stretch and two 3s from Pierre.

Haskell scored five points on one possession with 40 seconds on the clock, with a layup-and-1 and two technical-foul free throws; the Braves then turned two defensive plays by Amadou Faye into baskets in the final 15 seconds of the half, with Faye’s steal leading to a Haskell layup and then a block by the 6-foot-11 center leading to a Tyreik McCallum layup as time expired to give the Braves a 46-36 halftime advantage.

“I thought he gave us a nice little spark at the end of the first half, especially with Amare (Miller), (Elijah Cobb), Josh (Berenbaum) all being in foul trouble,” Richards said. “If (Faye) can continue to do that and make strides in that area of constant effort in practice, he’s got a chance to pick up some minutes there.”

UNCP will host Virginia State at 2 p.m. Saturday and Columbus State at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Give Thanks Tournament.