GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats had a nightmarish 3-point shooting night as they lost their season opener to Mars Hill, 67-62, Friday night during the first day of the Bearcat Classic at Horne Arena.
Walt Baxley scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the second half including a key basket in the final minute to lead the Lions, who are 2-0. Jarred Jackson led Lander (0-1) with 17 points.
The Bearcats made only 6-of-34 shots from behind the arc (18 percent). The two teams hit a combined 7-for-44 from 3-point range on the night with Mars Hill missing 9-of-10. But the Lions did plenty of damage inside, making 25-of-45 from inside the arc.
“We've got to get that basketball inside and we are going to make some changes to get ready for tomorrow afternoon's game,” said Bearcats coach Bruce Evans, whose team takes on Tusculum at 4 o'clock at Horne Arena. Georgia College and State University meets Mars Hill Saturday at 2.
“I thought our effort was there. But we had poor execution at bad times and that's on me. We are going to correct that,” Evans said.
Baxley also led all rebounders with 12 while Chris Aline added 14 points and 11 boards for Mars Hill.
Jason Davis had 11 points and Michael Griffin had all 10 of his points in the first half for Lander. Emanuel Hodrea led the Bearcats with eight rebounds.
Mars Hill used a 22-6 run to turn a 38-27 deficit into a 49-44 lead with 7:45 left. The Bearcats tied the game at 53 with 5:18 to go with five points on one possession. While Jackson was hitting a 3-pointer, Davis was fouled away from the ball and hit two free throws.
But Matt Anderson scored, James Hippolyte hit two free throws, and Baxley hit a jumper to give the Lions a 59-53 lead with 3:25 to go.
Lander tried to rally. Derek Brooks hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bearcats within 59-56 with 3:08 left, and Hodrea's tip-in of a Davis miss cut it to 60-59 at the 1:29 mark. But Baxley hit a jumper as the shot clock expired for a three-point lead with 53 seconds left, and the Lions were able to pull away.
Griffin hit two 3-pointers and Davis converted a pair of three-point plays on driving layups, highlighting an early 14-2 run that turned an 8-2 deficit into a 16-10 Bearcats lead with 12:30 left.
After Mars Hill pulled within 20-19 at the 3:55 mark, Davis drove in for another layup while Hodrea scored a tip-in and a layup as Lander closed the first half with an 8-2 run. The Bearcats led 28-21 at the break.
Both teams shot poorly from 3-point range in the first half, making a combined 2-of-19. Lander was 2-for-14 and the Lions 0-for-5.
For the game, Lander made 18-of-60 shots from the floor (30 percent) and 20-of-27 from the free-throw line (74 percent). Mars Hill made 26-of-55 from the floor (47 percent) and 14-of-26 from the line (54 percent). The Lions outrebounded Lander 46-38.
