UNC-Pembroke vs. #1 North Carolina in the Dean Dome

What a day on Saturday!

Awaking to the school band marching towards Grace P. Johnson Stadium for the football game, while anxiously awaiting the men's basketball game against the Tar Heels of North Carolina.

After a bit to eat in the caf, over to the meeting area outside the University Center to pick up my game ticket and t-shirt. Then onto the bus.

Two bus loads carried UNC-Pembroke students up to the Dean Dome, all of us wearing our black t-shirts reading 'UNC-Pembroke Braves Basketball' on the front along with the logo, and stating 'BRAVES BLACKOUT' on the back.

--Before I go any farther, I want to say congrats to the Braves football team, who we learned on the ride won 21-7, to cap off the season at 9-1 with a perfect record at home. Now they will wait to see if they make it into the Division II playoffs.

After our ride, we roll our two bus loads into Chapel Hill and a sea of Carolina blue. Fans were everywhere, some heading to their cars after the football game, some walking over to for basketball game, and others just getting there to catch the basketball contest.

As I said, we felt like we were rolling in deep with our two buses and 90 students. We were wrong, man were we wrong. The 90 of us were like a speck on the pavement.

(photo: Nick Phillips)

After arriving in we found our seats, Section 107, behind the Pembroke bench. Eventually, Section 107 was filled with our group of students, as well as fans from the town and surrounding areas who made the trip to cheer on their boys.

We arrived about an hour before the game, so we were able to see both teams shoot-arounds and then their entrances back onto the court for warm-ups, and ultimately, the player intros for both the Tar Heels and our Braves.

The opening tip went to UNC-Pembroke, and we scored the first points of the game, and led 10-2 at one point against the #1 team in the nation.

Halftime came, with the Braves holding in there strong, down 44-25 over the Heels.

The second half was mostly for the Tar Heels, with Coach Roy Williams playing his starters until the final minutes of the game.

The Heels stretched the lead farther, with the final score 102-62, but the Braves and first year coach Ben Miller should be proud of the way the played, going back and forth, bucket for bucket, in the first ten minutes of the game.

Although there was no giant upset by UNC-Pembroke, the trip as a whole was fun, with the chance to see the #1-ranked team a treat in itself.

Hopefully, the Tar Heels can go on to win the National Championship, and I will be able to say 'I saw the National Champions play.' On the same thought, our boys from Pembroke can say they played the champs, and for some, they can tell their kids that they scored agianst the National Champs.

(photo: Nick Phillips)