GREENWOOD – It turned out to be a scoring duel between Lander's Jarred Jackson and North Georgia College and State University's Matt Causey.
The Saints outscored Lander 18-5 over the last three minutes, beating the Bearcats 87-82 in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
North Georgia improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the Peach Belt while Lander fell to 2-7, 0-3.
Causey scored 34 points for the Saints, including 16-for-16 shooting from the free-throw line, and added eight assists. Jackson was equally impressive, leading the Bearcats with 30 points and making 13-of-16 free throws.
Jackson scored 11 consecutive Lander points, including three free throws when he was fouled behind the arc to give the hosts a 77-69 lead with 2:56 to go. But Causey, a Georgetown University transfer, scored 11 points the rest of the way to rally North Georgia. He hit a 3-pointer that pulled the Saints within 78-77 with 1:50 to go and clinched the win by making 8-of-8 free throws. Causey gave North Georgia the lead for good at 79-78 with two free throws with 1:20 remaining.
Mark Trust added 18 points and Buzz Wehunt 10 for the Saints.
Emanuel Hodrea added 13 points for the Bearcats, Michael Griffin scored 11 points, and Scottie Smith chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Lander trailed most of the second half before rallying to tie it at 66 on a basket by Hodrea with 6:35 left. Griffin's layup gave the Bearcats a 68-66 lead with 5:40 to go, then Jackson scored the team's next 11 points.
Lander started the game hot from behind the arc, getting two 3-pointers from Jackson and one apiece from Hodrea and J.T. Greene to build a 20-6 lead with 14:24 left in the first half.
North Georgia began to chip away, scoring six unanswered points to close within 20-12. Causey's 3-pointer pulled the Saints within 28-26 at the 9:30 mark. Jason Davis hit a 3-pointer and Smith scored inside to push Lander's lead to 40-33 with 6:43 left.
But the Saints responded with seven unanswered points, tying the game at 40 on a Trust free throw at the 4:20 mark. The Bearcats scored the next five points, but North Georgia closed the half with a 10-0 spurt to lead 50-45 at the break. Causey capped the run with a 3-pointer and had 17 points at halftime while Trust scored 14. Smith had 10 points and seven boards in the first half for Lander.
For the game, Lander shot 37 percent from the floor (27-for-74), 74 percent from the free-throw line (20-for-27), and 25 percent from 3-point range (8-for-32). The Saints hit 49 percent from the floor (23-for-47), 81 percent from the line (34-for-42), and 50 percent from behind the arc (7-for-14). The Bearcats had a 44-38 edge in rebounds.
