November 25, 2007

Boxscore

PEMBROKE, N.C.—Senior Marcus Hoke (Charlotte, N.C.) scored a game-high 28 points with an impressive nine three-pointers but host UNC Pembroke shot 65.4-percent in the second half to erase a 20-point deficit and win the finale of the 2007 UNCP Holiday Classic 73-66 on Sunday afternoon in the English E. Jones Center.

The Braves (2-1 Overall) hit 10 shots from behind the arc in the second half at a 62.5% clip to rally to their second victory of the season. The Knights (0-5) held a 19-point advantage at the intermission after making 59.1% of their shot in the first 20 minutes.

Hoke scored the first 12 St. Andrews points on a quartet of three-pointers, but Pembroke match him with 12 points to keep the contest tied. The Knights maintained a slim 22-19 lead with 5:41 left in the opening frame before going on a 20-4 run to end the half that put SAPC on top 42-23 at halftime. Hoke connect on 8-of-13 attempts from downtown in the first half to propel the Knights into the locker room with 24 points.

After UNCP drilled a pair of free throws to start the second stanza, Hoke hit his ninth and final three-pointer just 23 seconds into the final period to give St. Andrews its largest lead of the game at 20 points (45-25).

The Braves slowly cut into the deficit and a senior Jonathan Hart (Roselle, N.J.) trey doubled Pembroke’s 23-point total of the first half in just the first nine minute of the second and pull the hosts to within single digits.

With just under five minutes left to play, junior Cortez Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) capped a 34-14 run for the Braves to tie the game at 59-59. St. Andrews regained a two-point lead on a freshman Josh Lanham (Greensboro, N.C.) lay-up but another three-pointer by senior Jarrell Hunter (Charlotte, N.C.) put UNC Pembroke on top, 62-61, for the first time in over 31 minutes of action at the 3:15 mark.

The two teams swapped the next four points before Brown extended the Braves lead to four (67-63) with his fourth 3-pointer of the half. Once again the two teams swapped buckets before Hoke was fouled on his 19th three-point attempt. Hoke made his final shot from the charity stripe to pull the Knights within three -- and after a missed free throw by the Braves -- Hoke was about to go up for a game-tying three-point attempt but Braves junior Demarcus Lyday (Wichita, Kan.) made a nice steal from behind. St. Andrews was forced to foul late and Pembroke sealed the victory making all four freebees.

Brown scored 20 of his team-high 22 points in the second half while Lyday registered 11 of his 13 in the second frame. The Braves junior duo combined for 10-for-13 shooting in the final 20 minutes. Lyday also had team-highs of six assists and three steals while Brown remains perfect on the season from the free-throw line. Hunter added 18 points with nine points in each half.

Hoke finished the day with a career-high 28 points, swishing 9 of his 19 attempts. Lanham was perfect for the Knights going 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line for a season-high 12 points. Junior Joseph Gripper (Charlotte, N.C.) added six points and a team-high six boards for SAPC. Junior point guard Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) recorded a career-high seven assists.

St. Andrews concludes its season-long sixth straight game on the road to start the season at Conference Carolinas rival Pfeiffer University on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.