UNC-Pembroke downs rival FMU, 91-72

Posted: Jan 31, 2019 / 04:17 AM EST

Updated: Jan 31, 2019 / 04:45 AM EST

PEMBROKE, NC – The 21^st-ranked UNC Pembroke men’s basketball team scored 52 points in the paint, out-rebounded visiting Francis Marion by 17 boards and closed the first half with a 19-5 run to key a 91-72 victory over the Patriots on Wednesday evening on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

The Braves (15-3, 10-2 PBC) improved to 7-1 in Pembroke this season with the win but, more importantly, kept pace in with 10^th-ranked USC Aiken in the race for the conference’s regular season crown. It was the eighth-straight series road loss for the Patriots (13-4, 9-3) who fell to 7-2 away from Florence, S.C., with the result as well.