PEMBROKE, N.C. – Southern Wesleyan men's basketball suffered their second-straight loss on Saturday night, falling 81-49 to UNC Pembroke in the finale of the McDonald's Classic hosted by the Braves.

Southern Wesleyan (1-4) struggled to just 34.6 percent shooting from the floor as only one player reached double figures on the night, junior Kenny Holmes led the team with 10 points. The Warriors managed to make just 2-of-9 three-point attempts and even struggled from the free throw line at just 61.1 percent.

The Braves (4-0) shot 49.2 percent from the floor as three players reached double figures, led by Brandon Watts' 13 points.  Griffin Pittman added 11 and Keysheen Hinton came off the bench to score 10.

The first 7:30 of the game saw all three ties and four lead changes but after that point the Braves took control and pulled away in the second half.  SWU last led at 8-7 with 14:12 left in the first half on a jumper from Buster Walker. The game was last tied at 10-10 with 12:30 to play after Cameron Solomon's basket evened the score.

The next possession for UNC Pembroke Tyler Thayer connected on one of his made three-pointers in the game to start an 8-2 run for the Braves.  UNCP made 8-of-19 from beyond the arc in the game.  The Warriors closed to within one on three separate occasions, the last coming at 24-23 with 5:52 to go, but were never able to take the lead.

A 6-0 run for the Braves became a 13-5 run to close the half as the Braves hit the break leading 37-28.  Kenny Holmes opened the half with a layup to pull the Warriors to within 37-30 but that was the closest the Warriors got the rest of the game.  An 8-0 run by the Braves put the home side ahead by 15 at 45-30, where they'd keep their distance for the rest of the game.

Mike Lieberman added six points and eight rebounds for the Warriors.  Eleven different players scored as several players saw extended minutes in the second half.  Leading scorer Cameron Solomon broke his string of 20+ point games at three with just a six point effort.

The Warriors will finally play before the home crowd on Tuesday as they welcome Erskine to Tysinger for a 7:30 p.m. tip following the women's game at 5:30 p.m.

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