WINGATE, N.C.----Lander University freshman guard Dane Sparrow hit a career-high 24 points on nine-of-10 shooting to lead the Bearcats to a 74-61 NCAA Division II men's basketball victory over Wingate University Tuesday night in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus.

Lander improves to 2-1 overall with the victory. Wingate is 1-1 overall. Lander will host Newberry and Presbyterian this weekend at Horne Arena. The Bearcats will play Newberry at 6 p.m. Friday and will face Presbyterian at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Sparrow hit 18 of his 24 points in the first half as Lander built a 39-31 lead in the opening frame. The East Mecklenburg High School product made the most of his first return visit to his home state, scoring 24 points in 26 minutes off the Bearcat bench. He added eight rebounds to his ledger Tuesday.
 
The Bearcats opened the second half with a 12-2 run. The flurry ended with a tip-in by LU freshman forward Curtis Milner with 15:40 to play, putting the visitors up 18 points at 51-33. Wingate would get no closer than the final score as Lander kept the defending South Atlantic Conference tournament champions at bay.

Lander senior guard/forward Jarred Jackson added 14 points, while senior center Emanuel Hodrea had 13 points and eight rebounds. Bearcat junior forward Scottie Smith led all players with nine rebounds. Thanks to the efforts of Smith and his teammates, Lander outrebounded Wingate 49-26.
 
Wingate junior forward/guard Sean Barnette led the Bulldogs with 24 points. Bulldog senior guard Bill Smith had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Wingate redshirt junior center Bryan Grier added 10 points. Grier and Lander's Milner shared game-high honors with three blocks each.