#25 Men’s Basketball advances to Region Semis after wild OT thriller vs #24 UNC Pembroke

Dahlonega, Ga. —- The 25th-ranked and 4th-seeded Catawba College men's basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit with 48 seconds left in regulation in their NCAA Tournament First Round matchup with 24th-ranked and 5th-seeded UNC Pembroke, and won in overtime to advance to the Southeast Regional semis on Sunday night.

TEAM STATISTICS

- UNC Pembroke shot 35-for-71 (49 percent) from the field, while Catawba was 27-of-65 (42 percent) from the floor

- The Braves were 4-for-16 (25 percent) from three-point range; the Catawba Indians shot 5-of-23 (22 percent) from deep

- Catawba went 39-for-51 (77 percent) at the free throw line; Pembroke was 20-of-37 (54 percent) from the charity stripe

- The Braves out-rebounded Catawba 46-37, leading to a slim 19-15 advantage in second-chance points

- UNCP recorded 20 assists to 17 turnovers, while Catawba had 11 assists to 15 turnovers, but it was Catawba that held a 29-19 advantage in points off turnovers

- Pembroke dominated in the paint, out-scoring Catawba 54-32, but Catawba held leads in fastbreak points (16-14) and bench points (40-37)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Javeon Jones scored a game-high 25 points with a team-high eight rebounds

- Kaleb Wallace pitched in 20 points off the bench with seven rebounds and five assists

- Kris Robinson added 18 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 at the foul line

- Dre Nelson was the fourth Catawba Indian in double figures with 10

- Peyton Gerald added nine points, seven boards and two blocks

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Pembroke took a 6-2 lead after the first four minutes

- Catawba responded with a 7-0 run, capped by Shad Thomas' jumper

- A 10-0 run for the Braves gave them their largest lead at that point, 18-11

- UNCP led 25-14 after Dallas Gardner's jumper near the 6-minute mark

- Nelson's three-pointer trimmed the lead to seven points

- Jones' and-one got the Pembroke lead down to 33-30 with under a minute to go

- The Braves scored a jumper at the buzzer to lead 35-30 at the break

SECOND HALF

- Robinson canned a triple to cap a quick 5-0 Catawba run to start the second half to tie the game

- A 7-0 run from the Braves allowed them to pull ahead once again 46-38

- A pair of Wallace free throws trimmed the deficit to four points

- Pembroke led by 10 at the midway point after six straight points

- An 8-0 run turned a 12-point Pembroke advantage to just a four-point game after Wallace's layup

- Pembroke answered right back, immediately returning their lead to 10 points

- UNCP led by eight with 48 seconds left, but Robinson got fouled shooting a three-pointer and sank all three to get the deficit to five

- After two missed free throws from the Braves, Jones' jumper cut it to a single-possession game with 26 seconds left

- Pembroke missed two more free throws and Robinson drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 83 with 18 seconds left; Catawba made a stop on the final possession to force overtime

OVERTIME

- The teams traded free throws for the first few minutes of overtime until Gardner's jumper game UNCP a four-point edge

- Jones' jumper cut it to two before he made the second of two free throws to pull within a single point

- Catawba forced a steal on the ensuing possession and Wallace's behind-the-back pass set up Jones for the go-ahead layup

- Pembroke missed on its ensuing possession and Jones was fouled where he sank both free throws

- Catawba fouled up three and the Braves missed the front end, allowing Robinson's two free throws to seal the comeback win

UP NEXT

- Catawba advances to the Second Round where they'll meet the host 14th-ranked and top-seed North Georgia at 7:30 p.m.