Box Score by Cory Guinn
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The Barton College men's basketball team dropped is second straight decision, falling 79-67 to the Braves of UNC Pembroke on the first day of the 50th Annual Pickle Classic hosted by University of Mount Olive in Kornegay Arena.
Barton (2-2) shot 34.9 from the floor as a team and committed costly late-game turnovers to lead to the defeat. In contrast, Pembroke shot 44.3 as a unit and outscored BC 44-35 in the second half to earn the victory.
Sophomore Danny Shand led the Bulldogs with 21 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. Shand also collected eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to fill up the stat sheet. Senior Daniel Westbrook chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds, knocking down three of his four attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
UNC Pembroke's Brandon Watts led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the game's only double-double. Quamian Rose and Brandon Winford scored 13 points apiece to round out the double-digit scorers for the Braves.
BC led for much of the early going as a three-pointer from Westbrook gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game at 23-16 with 11:27 remaining in the first half of play.
Pembroke took a 27-26 lead with just under four minutes remaining before Barton reclaimed the lead on a free throw and a jumper from Shand. A tip in by Watts with four seconds remaining gave the Braves a 35-34 advantage at intermission.
UNCP opened the second half with seven unanswered points to build its lead to an eight-point margin, going ahead by as much as 12 points with under 15 minutes left on the game clock.
Barton looked to mount a comeback with 7:49 remaining, using a 10-4 run to tie the game at 60-60 just before the five-minute media timeout. However, Watts scored the Braves' next 13 points as Barton fell in a hole late in the action. Unforced turnovers by BC and four late free throws sealed the win for Pembroke.
Barton will play against Virginia State University tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. in the final day of the classic.
