GREENWOOD – Ron Robinson's steal of an inbounds pass with one second left preserved No. 20 Columbus State's 78-77 come-from-behind victory over Lander Saturday night in Peach Belt Conference action at Horne Arena.
Corris Portis hit two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to rally the Cougars from a 76-72 deficit. He led all scorers with 23 points while Robinson added 19 points.
Columbus State improved to 16-5 overall and maintained its first-place standing in the Peach Belt at 10-2. The Bearcats saw another upset bid fall short, dropping to 5-14 overall and 2-10 in the conference. Lander has lost nine games by six points or fewer this season.
J.T. Greene had a big night for Lander, hitting 6-of-10 shots from 3-point range for a team-high 18 points. Jarred Jackson added 15 points while Emanuel Hodrea had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jackson had seven assists and Greene added three steals.
Justin Wilson added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars while Antoine Ransom scored 12 points.
Greene hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Lander a 75-68 lead with 5:15 left. But the Bearcats committed two turnovers and missed three free throws in their next few possessions and were unable to extend their lead.
Hodrea's free throw pushed Lander's lead to 76-72 with 2:01 left. Portis hit a long 3-pointer with 1:48 to go to close the gap to 76-75. After Michael Griffin made a free throw to give the Bearcats a 77-75 lead with 1:19 left, Portis hit another trey to put the Cougars on top at the 1:06 mark.
Each team missed a shot in the final minute and Lander got possession with 15 seconds left after a Columbus air ball. With 1.7 seconds left, Jason Davis attempted an inbounds pass to Hodrea under the basket. Hodrea appeared open, but Robinson slid in and stole the ball.
Greene hit three 3-pointers and Hodrea scored five points during a 16-0 run that rallied Lander from a 23-18 deficit into a 34-23 lead with 6:30 left in the first half. Robinson's 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run that pulled the Cougars within 34-31. Zoran Jelenic's 3-pointer extended the Bearcat lead to 42-36 at halftime.
For the game, the Bearcats made 28-of-59 shots from the floor (48 percent), 11-of-21 from the free-throw line (52 percent), and 10-of-23 from 3-point range (44 percent). Columbus made 27-of-57 shots from the floor (47 percent), 10-of-17 from the line (59 percent), and 14-of-33 from behind the arc (42 percent). Lander out-rebounded the Cougars 37-33.
