PEMBROKE, N.C. --- Nygell Verdier accounted for 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team to a 68-57 win over visiting Tusculum University Saturday afternoon at the Jones Center.
The Braves (9-3) remained undefeated at home and have won seven in a row with their last loss coming at the hands of the Pioneers (3-7) when the teams met in November at Greeneville. TU erased a 19-point deficit to post an 81-80 win over UNCP.
In Saturday's game, the Braves (No. 5 in D2CSC Southeast Region) scored 34 points in the paint and converted Tusculum's 19 turnovers into 32 points. Tusculum was held to a season-low 57 points and suffers its fourth consecutive loss and is still in search of its first road victory of the season.
Verdier went 7-of-12 from the floor including a pair of three-pointers and also went 7-of-10 from the free throw line. UNCP also got 13 points and five steals from Bradlee Haskell while Elijah Cobb added 12 points and eight boards in the victory.
Tusculum senior Connor Jordan led the Pioneers with 17 points and four assists, while Josiah Morris tallied 13 points while going 3-for-5 from beyond the three-point arch. KJ Crump notched six points, Gemari Marshall had five markers while the quartet of Jacob Hobbs, Akeem Odusipe, TJ Printup and Bryce Jackson all had four points apiece.
The first half was a back-and-forth contest which saw four lead changes and three ties, before the Braves took a 29-22 lead at the intermission. UNCP close out the first period with a 12-3 run over the final five minutes.
In the first 5:35 of the second half, Tusculum closed the gap to 36-34 following four straight points by Printup. The Braves extended the lead back to seven at 41-34 following a three-point play by Jajuan Carr with 12:16 remaining. TU answered with a 7-2 spurt sparked by a Crump triple to trail 43-41 with 10:17 on the clock.
Pembroke would later extend the lead to 51-45 on a jumper by Cobb with 7:54 on the scoreboard. With UNCP leading 53-47, the Pioneers scored eight unanswered points thanks to a pair of Morris triples and Jordan's two free throws as TU led 55-53 with 5:22 remaining.
Pembroke's Josh Berenbaum tied the game with his layup and Verdier made two free throws to give the Braves a 57-55 lead with four minutes left. Jordan answered with a jumper to knot the game at 57-57 with 3:31 on the clock.
The Pioneers would miss its final three shots of the game and commit four turnovers, while the Braves scored the final 11 points of the contest including nine in a row from Verdier to end the game including a pair of dunks.
UNCP finished the game shooting 45 percent from the floor including 16-of-30 in the second half (53%). TU ended the contest shooting 22-of-52 from the field (42%) including 7-of-16 from three-point territory (44%). The Braves out-rebounded TU by a 39-28 margin including 17-9 on the offensive boards.
Tusculum returns to South Atlantic Conference play this Wednesday for a rare 11 a.m. contest at Emory & Henry.
