The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season with a 72-69 loss at UNC Pembroke this afternoon. The Abbey slips to 5-1, while the Braves improve to 2-4.

Belmont Abbey got double-figure scoring from four different players, including Jonathan Jackson's game-high 18 points. Richard Barbee scored 17, Chad Patus added 13 and Deonte Murphy registered a dozen.

The Abbey battled back from a four point second half deficit to tie the game for the eighth and final time with 7:33 remaining, but UNCP's short 5-0 scoring spurt over the next three minutes of the contest proved to be the difference. The Braves would stretch their advantage out to as much as six on an old-fashioned three-point play with 52 ticks left, but Patus would answer at the other end with one of his own.

Cortez Brown missed both ends of a two-shot foul with 27 seconds left to play, but the Crusaders would miss three chances to tie the game from beyond the arc in the final 12 ticks of the game clock. The contest featured eight tie scores and nine lead changes. The squads combined for 54 turnovers.