BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball went head-to-head with the No. 15/17 UNC Pembroke on Saturday afternoon as the Braves prevailed in the second half with the 83-75 victory on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: UNC Pembroke – 83; Lees-McRae – 75
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (4-8/1-5), No. 15/17 UNCP (11-1/4-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- UNC Pembroke extended its lead to 20-11 with 10:08 remaining in the first half after a KJ Walker layup, but the Bobcats closed the gap to two after a 7-0 run.
- Justin Nichelson scored his 12th and 13th point of the first half after a technical foul was assessed to the Braves head coach and the Bobcats took the 32-30 lead with 31 seconds left in the first. UNCP answered in the final possession of the first half with a three-point play by Elijah Cobb and the Braves entered the break with the 33-32 edge.
- The Bobcats took their biggest lead of the game at 52-46 after back-to-back triples by LJ Rogers and Timon Jones at 12:16 mark of the second half.
- The Braves regained the advantage at 57-55 and never trailed the rest of the way as UNC Pembroke held an aggressive Bobcat squad in the end at 82-74.
- Nichelson led the Bobcat offense with a season-high 18 points on 5-10 shooting and an efficient 7-8 from the free-throw line. Jones followed with 14 points on 6-13 from the field and Brandon Brown joined his fellow Bobcats with 12 points.
- Williams Onyeodi had a solid game for Lees-McRae as he recorded nine points to go along with six rebounds.
- Lees-McRae shot 50.0% (28-56) from the field and 12-16 from the charity stripe. The Bobcats held the advantage inside with 40 points in the paint to UNCP's 30.
FOR THE BRAVES:
- Bradlee Haskell had 18 points on 5-12 shooting and five rebounds as the Braves had five players in double-digit scoring.
- Cobb scored 16 points for UNC Pembroke and six rebounds as Cortez Marion-Holmes posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
- JaJuan Carr followed with 14 and KJ Walker tallied 11 points off the bench.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball makes the short road trip to Mars Hill on Monday, Dec. 19 for a 7:00 p.m. showdown with the Lions.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
