GREENWOOD – Jarred Jackson scored 24 points and the Lander Bearcats made 21 of 22 free throws during a 78-61 non-conference men's basketball victory over Catawba College Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Lander broke a three-game losing streak, improving to 4-4 overall. The Indians fell to 2-5.
Jackson hit 12 of 13 free throws to lead the Bearcats at the stripe.
Michael Griffin scored 17 points for Lander while adding team highs in rebounds with nine and assists with six. Jason Davis scored 11 points for the Bearcats while Dane Sparrow added 10.
Antonio Houston paced Catawba with 15 points while Brian Graves added 10 points and four assists. Chris Woolridge paced the Indians with seven boards.
Lander had a double-digit lead during all but two possessions in the second half. Leading 36-25 at halftime, the Bearcats increased their advantage to 16, 49-33, with 15:10 to go on a basket by Griffin. Catawba closed the gap to nine at 57-48 and 59-50 with 8:05 left. But Lander scored eight unanswered points on a basket by Scottie Smith and three-point plays by Darius Johnson and Griffin to make it 67-50 with 5:46 to go.
Catawba crawled within 10 points three times. But a key 3-pointer by Davis started a game-ending 7-0 run. Lander had ran several seconds off the clock when Davis swished a trey from the right corner with 1:23 left to take the wind out of Catawba's come-back attempt.
The game was tied at 12-all with 10:45 left in the first half when Lander went on a 15-2 run. Johnson and Griffin scored five points apiece during the streak that gave the Bearcats a 27-14 lead at the 7:38 mark. Catawba got as close as eight at 30-22, but Sparrow closed the first half with a 3-pointer to give the Bearcats a 36-25 halftime lead. Sparrow, Jackson and Griffin had six of Lander's seven first-half 3s.
For the game, the Bearcats made 24 of 57 shots from the floor (42 percent), 21 of 22 free throws (96 percent), and 9 of 22 from 3-point range (41 percent). Catawba hit 22 of 66 shots (33 percent), 13 of 23 free throws (57 percent), and 4 of 19 from behind the arc (21 percent). The Indians outrebounded Lander 44-41.
