GREENWOOD – Jarred Jackson hit seven 3-pointers and Lander shot 65 percent from behind the arc, upsetting USC Upstate 79-75 Monday night in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball at Horne Arena.
Lander hit 13-of-20 shots from 3-point range, including three by J.T. Greene, two by Michael Griffin and one by Zoran Jelenic. Jackson made 7-of-9 from behind the arc.
The Bearcats improved to 6-14 overall and 3-10 in the Peach Belt. USC Upstate fell to 13-7, 8-6.
Jackson led Lander with 21 points before fouling out with 2:12 to go, Griffin scored 13 points, Greene added 12 points, and Scottie Smith scored all 12 of his points in the first half. Jahi Rawlings hit 7-of-8 crucial free throws in the second half to help the Bearcats hold off a late challenge. Smith paced Lander with nine rebounds while Griffin had six assists.
Jeremy Byrd led the Spartans with 21 points, Ivica Grgurovic added 15 points, while Jay Free and Daniel Quinlan each scored 13. Grgurovic led USC Upstate with nine rebounds while Byrd had six assists and five steals.
Greene hit an off-balance 3-pointer from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down and two defenders in his face to make it 59-44 with 7:33 left. The Bearcats led by as many as 16, 62-46, with 6:51 to go on Jackson's sixth 3-pointer of the game. The Spartans did not pull within single figures until the 1:22 mark when Grgurovic's 3-pointer made it 71-62.
Free hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to close the gap to 76-73. Rawlings made two free throws and Jason Davis one to clinch the win.
Lander got its 3-point shooting touch going early with Greene opening the game with back-to-back treys and Jackson making one for an 11-2 lead at the 16:20 mark. Jelenic and Jackson added 3-pointers to increase Bearcat leads to 19-12 and 24-16.
USC Upstate began to chip away, closing within 29-28 on Ante Pikunic's two free throws with 2:30 to go. Jackson sank his third 3-pointer of the half and Smith made two free throws to extend the lead to 34-28. But Grgurovic nailed a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half to pull the Spartans within 34-33 at the intermission.
For the game, Lander made 24-of-48 shots from the floor (50 percent) and 18-of-25 free throws (72 percent). USC Upstate hit 25-of-66 shots from the field (38 percent), 19-of-27 free throws (70 percent), and only 6-of-28 from behind the arc (21 percent). The Spartans had a 37-35 rebounding edge.
