The Lions intercepted five passes on their way to a 37-13 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs to defeat University of North Carolina-Pembroke. 

UNA drove the ball 51 yards in 12 plays on their first offensive possession of the game, but Will Craig was wide right on a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Te’vell Williams hauled in a Luke Charles pass from 13 yards out to give the Braves an early 6-0 lead.

Will Craig put UNA on the board with a 21-yard field goal early in the second quarter to cut the lead in half at 6-3.

The Lions forced Pembroke to their second three and out in as many possessions and capitalized when Lamonte Thompson found the end zone on a 27-yard scamper to give UNA a 10-6 lead with four minutes and 28 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The Braves moved the ball to the UNA 21-yard line, but the drive was stopped when Philbert Marshall picked off Charles with one minute and six secondsremaining in the half.

Pembroke’s LJ Stroman returned a punt 49 yards to the UNA 23 to setup a short field for the Braves. Charles hit Michael Isbell from 12 yards out to give Pembroke a 13-10 lead.

The Lions wasted no time answering Pembroke’s touchdown with one of their own.  Luke Wingo found Jason Smith on a five-yard touchdown pass that capped off a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

Marshall picked off Charles for the second time that afternoon and UNA capitalized again on The Braves turnover.

Thompson’s six-yard run put the Lions up 23-13 with five minutes and 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Lions intercepted two more of Charles’ passes and returned them both for touchdowns to preserve a 37-13 UNA victory.

This win advances the Lions to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

UNA will travel to Hickory, N.C. to face Lenoir-Rhyne University Saturday, Dec. 7. Kick-off is set for 11 a.m.