DAHLONEGA, Ga. — With advancement in the NCAA Tournament on the line, it was what happened on the line that made a major impact on the outcome of UNC Pembroke’s Southeast Regional first-round game against Catawba Saturday.

The Indians took over 50 free-throw attempts, while the Braves struggled in their trips to the stripe, leading to a 98-94 overtime win by Catawba.

“Tough one,” UNCP coach Drew Richards said. “We knew depth was not one of our strengths going into postseason, and we’ve got four guys that foul out; they make more free throws than we attempt — it’s just tough. … I was proud of how we fought; we were putting guys in the game in a position they’ve never been in before, just trying to see what sticks.”

No. 4 seed Catawba (23-5) advanced to the second round; the Indians lost there to top seed and regional host North Georgia.

The Indians were 39-for-51 (79.5%) at the free-throw line for the game, while fifth-seeded UNCP (23-7) was 20-for-37 (54.1%). This included a 7-for-18 (38.9%) mark in the second half and 4-for-8 (50.0%) clip in overtime.

The Braves led 83-78 with just over 30 seconds left in regulation, but missed four straight free-throw attempts from that point to end the second half. Catawba got a jumper from Javeon Jones and a 3 by Kris Robinson which tied the game at 83-83, and after a timeout the Braves did not get up a shot attempt to end regulation, sending UNCP into its fourth-straight overtime game.

UNCP took a 91-89 lead with 1:53 to go in overtime after a Josh Berenbaum 3-pointer, and extended that lead to 93-90 moments later with a jumper by Dallas Gardner. Javeon Jones hit a jumper for Catawba and made one of two free throws on the next possession to pull to a 93-92 deficit; DeAngelo Epps stole the Braves’ inbounds pass, leading to a layup by Javeon Jones to put Catawba ahead 94-93.

Jones and Robinson each hit two free throws in the final seconds for Catawba, while UNCP missed on a scoring opportunity on one possession and got one free throw from JaJuan Carr on the next.

Nygell Verdier finished with a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebound for UNCP. The junior was 8-for-15 from the field and had three assists and two steals in 39 minutes of action.

Carr turned in 16 points on a 6-for-15 shooting performance. Carr pulled down seven rebounds, had five assists, three steals and one block in 40 minutes of work.

Gardner and Amare Miller each came off of the bench to add key scoring. Gardner finished with 14 points, while Miller registered 15 points.

“I was proud of all of them,” Richards said. “Dallas Gardner is a true freshman in that game with 14 and four with only one turnover. Amare Miller with 15. Our starters played well. … Twenty assists in that game, it usually equates to a win. So I’m really proud of all of those guys; everyone that stepped on the floor contributed in some way or fashion to push the game to where it was pushed.”

Javeon Jones scored 25 points with eight rebounds for Catawba, Kaleb Wallace had 20 points with seven rebounds and five assists, Robinson scored 18 points and Dre Nelson had 10 points with six rebounds. Peyton Gerald added nine points with seven rebounds.

UNCP shot 46.4% from the field in the opening half and took an 18-11 lead after a pair of free throws from Jamarvious Jones with 8:21 on the clock. Catawba worked its deficit back to 21-14, but the Braves would push their lead out to 25-14 moments later with a layup from Gardner at the six-minute mark.

The Indians put together an 11-6 run to trim their deficit back to 31-25 with a triple from Wallace with 2:32 remaining in the half, but Carr drained a floating jumper as time expired to send the teams to the locker rooms with UNC Pembroke holding a 35-30 lead.

Catawba started the second half on an 8-4 scoring surge to cut its deficit back to 39-38 just three minutes into the period, but UNC Pembroke scored the next seven points to extend its lead out to 46-38 with 13:40 on the clock. The Indians worked the score back to 60-56 with an 8-0 run, but back-to-back 3s from Elijah Cobb and Bradlee Haskell padded UNCP’s lead to 66-56 with six minutes remaining in regulation.

The Braves took their largest lead of the night, 75-63, with a layup from Dallas Gardner with 3:27 on the clock, and would eventually lead 82-73 after Amare Miller’s old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:12 left to play in regulation. Catawba closed out the frame on a 9-1 run to send the game into overtime.

The Braves shot 49.3% for the game and had 20 assists against 17 turnovers while holding Catawba to a 41.5% clip from the field and outrebounding the Indians 46-37 — a combination of statistical factors that usually lead to a victory, Richards said.

“Statistically, outside of the free-throw differential, having a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, holding them to 41% from the floor and having plus-9 on the boards, that’s usually good for a win if the other team doesn’t attempt 50 free throws,” the Braves’ fourth-year coach said. “So that’s a tough one to swallow.”

UNCP posted a 54-32 advantage in the paint; Catawba scored 29 points from UNCP’s 17 turnovers.

The loss ends a Braves season in which the team won the Conference Carolinas East Division title, then the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

“We had some roster issues about two weeks ago … they banded together, they fought,” Richards said. “After that adversity struck I thought they got closer than any team I’ve ever coached. … I will always look back at this team as one of the toughest teams I’ve ever coached, because regardless of outside influences or adversity they hit, they came back and they fought every single day. They fought in practice, they fought in the conference tournament, and they fought their tails off in the NCAA Tournament, so I will not think of anything negative when it comes to this team because that level of toughness is hard to find these days.”