SPARTANBURG, SC – The Emmanuel Men's Basketball team faced the UNC Pembroke Braves in the 2025 Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas Championship held at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford College. The two teams battled from the start, with the Braves leading the Lions 49-34 at the half. The Braves continued to control the pace of the game in the 2^nd half, taking home a 107-91 victory and the conference title. With the loss, the Lions finish their season at 21-9, 19-3 in conference play.

The Braves jumped out to an early 8-4 lead but the Lions responded with key buckets from Jasper Gibson, Tavarus Webb, and Chris Dees to help the Lions take an 19-18 lead. The Braves retook the lead, going up by as much as 15 points in the half, leading 49-34 at the break. In the half, the Lions were 11-24 from the field (45.8) and 9-12 from the foul line. Tavarus Webb led the Lions in scoring in the first half with 15 points. 

The Braves continued to control the pace of the game in the 2^nd half, going up by as much as 25 points early, 82-57. The Lions answered back with back-to-back threes by Webb and a driving layup by Kendall Latney to cut the Braves lead to 16 with 7:04 to play, 90-74. In the half, the Lions were 16-31 from the field (51.6%) and 8-16 from three-point range. Although the Lions went on a run late to cut the Braves lead to 14 with 2:57 to play, the Braves finished strong to win the 2025 Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas Championship, 107-91. 

Tavarus Webb led all scorers with 44 points on the night. He also led the Lions in rebounds with 8, and contributed 3 assists, 2 steals and a block. Kendall Latney added 29 points on the afternoon, adding 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. Jasper Gibson rounded out the top scorers with 12 points. 

Congratulations, Lions on a fantastic season!