Top Two Seeds Advance to Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship Final
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The top two seeds in the 2024 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship were tested in Saturday’s semifinals, but both advanced to Sunday’s championship game.
Top seed UNC Pembroke needed overtime to defeat fifth seed Barton, 79-73 while second seed Emmanuel held off a second-half rally from third seed Chowan to take the contest, 81-68.
In their first game of the tournament, top seed UNC Pembroke escaped an upset bid from fifth seed Barton. The Bulldogs closed the first half on an 11-3 run to take the halftime lead and held the advantage the majority of the second half. They traded triples in the final two minutes before a Barton basket evened the score in the final minute to send the game to overtime. UNC Pembroke went on a 9-0 run early in overtime, highlighted by a three-point basket from Bradlee Haskell and a block from Elijah Cobb, as the Braves took the contest, 79-73. Haskell scored 24 points for UNC Pembroke while Nygell Verdier added 17 points. Cobb posted eight points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Donaven Hairston scored 28 points to go along with eight assists and five steals for Barton.
KJ Jones II and Tavarus Webb led the Lions past Chowan with both eclipsing the 20-point plateau. Jones poured in 33 points, going 13-for-14 from the free throw line while Webb went 11-for-13 from the floor for 25 points. He added eight rebounds and three steals. The Lions pulled away early in the second half, extending their lead to 12 before the Hawks pulled within four in the final five minutes. Emmanuel weathered the run and advanced with the 81-68 victory.
UNC Pembroke takes on Emmanuel in the championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Emmanuel is looking for its third Conference Carolinas Tournament crown (2019 and 2023), while UNC Pembroke is aiming for its first Conference Carolinas tournament title since rejoining the league. UNC Pembroke won five titles as a member of Conference Carolinas in its NAIA era (1981, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1990).
2024 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship
First Round – Sunday, March 3 at #4-5-6 Seeds
#9 Belmont Abbey 89, #10 Mount Olive 82 (
Box Score)
#11 King 87, #8 Young Harris 79 (
Box Score)
#12 North Greenville 99, #7 Converse 96 (
3OT - Box Score)
Second Round – Monday, March 4 at #4-5-6 Seeds
#4 Francis Marion 82, #9 Belmont Abbey 66 (
Box Score)
#5 Barton 89, #11 King 77 (
Box Score)
#6 Lees-McRae 79, #12 North Greenville 75 (
Box Score)
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 8 (at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#5 Barton 70, #4 Francis Marion 67 (
Box Score)
#3 Chowan 81, #6 Lees-McRae 76 (
Box Score)
Semifinals – Saturday, March 9 (at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 UNC Pembroke 79, #5 Barton 73 (
OT - Box Score)
#2 Emmanuel 81, #3 Chowan 69 (
Box Score)
Final – Sunday, March 10 (at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 UNC Pembroke vs. #2 Emmanuel, 1 p.m.