NEWBERRY — The Newberry College men’s basketball program (0-1) fell to the Braves of UNC Pembroke (1-0) by a final score of 85-76 on Friday, Nov. 12. Despite the loss, freshman Devario Sheppard proved to be a force, producing 24 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.
The game started off slow, with the teams feeling each other out as QuanDaveon McCollum opened the scoring with a layup. After the Braves pulled ahead to take a 19-11 lead, both defenses dug in as the teams went scoreless for about three minutes of game time. That stretch was broken by a layup from Sheppard, his first points of his collegiate career. With about five minutes left in the first half, Sheppard would throw down a dunk to hand Newberry the momentum it needed to go on a 12-4 run to end the half.
McCollum once again got the scoring started for the Wolves in the second half. UNC Pembroke started to pull ahead, but Sheppard hit back-to-back threes to keep the Wolves within striking distance. After the Braves continued to apply pressure, Marcus Ford hit a deep three-pointer to bring back the momentum. At the 4:24 mark, TJ Brown was fouled going for a dunk that brought the crowd to its feet, before draining both free throws. Back-to-back layups from Brown with just over three minutes to play pulled the Wolves within six points, but the Braves were able to close out the game at the free throw line.
Ford had 15 points while dishing out three assists. Meanwhile, Brown put up 14 points and four rebounds. McCollum and Malakhi Stremlow each had solid showings on the glass with the pair having six and eight rebounds, respectively, and five points each. Bedford had eight points while Jalen Johnson had three and Tai Giger had two to round out the scoring column.
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