Jayden Berkin, Sports Reporter
The UNC Pembroke’s Women’s basketball team defeated the Francis Marion Patriots in a closely contested Conference Carolina match Saturday afternoon. The Braves explosive fourth quarter helped them propel to a 54-49 victory over the Patriots. With this win, the Braves improved to 19-6 on the season (13-2 CC).
The Braves started off shaky in the first few minutes of the game, allowing the Patriots to go on a 5-0 unanswered run. Quickly, the Braves responded with a pair of threes and solid defense to hold the Patriots to just 12 points in the first quarter, and they started the second quarter off with a 15-12 lead.
The second quarter saw some fight from the Patriots. The Braves stayed competitive for the first couple of minutes in the second, going on an 8-6 run, however, the Patriots would go on a 9-4 run to close out the half and take the lead 30-27. The third quarter is where it seemed the Patriots might take off with this lead, only allowing the Braves to score six points while scoring 10 to up the score 40-33.
The Braves really ramped things up in the fourth quarter, opening up the quarter with a 14-4 run, making the score 47-44 at the 3:46 mark. The Patriots would go on to make it a one-point game two times after this electric run from the Braves, calling for some important timeouts from coach John Haskins.
“Get the ball in bounds so someone can make a free throw,” Haskins said regarding what he said in the huddle during those timeouts.
And that is exactly what the Braves did, ending the game with their last seven points being free throws. The Braves closed out a tight fourth quarter thanks to an explosive 21-point offensive performance that led them to win the game.
Kalaya Hall led the team in points with 18, followed by Zaria Clark’s 12 and Courtney Smith’s eight. Hall also led the team in rebounds with seven, followed by Aniah McManus five and Clarks 4. McManus, Lillian Flantos, Clark and Kelci Adams each had two assists. Hall also led the team in steals with three, followed by Flantos with two.
For the UNC Pembroke men’s basketball team, they shook off a slow start and routed the Francis Marion Patriots 89-65 Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Braves improved to 19-5 on the season and 13-2 in conference play.
Bradlee Haskell led the way with an impressive stat line with 17 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocks while also grabbing two rebounds. Amare Miller followed with 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Javonte Waverley also came off the bench and finished with 13 points, two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Elijah Cobb and Nygell Verdier each had seven rebounds.
The Braves will travel to Mount Olive on Wednesday with tip-off for the women’s game set for 5 p.m. and the men’s game at 7 p.m.