GREENWOOD, S.C. -- Eighth seed and host Lander University took the lead on the game's opening possession here Wednesday night and never trailed in defeating ninth-seeded USC Aiken, 73-57, in the 2006 Peach Belt Conference Tournament. Lander (8-20) will now move into Friday's quarterfinal round to face top seed Columbus State at 7 p.m. USC Aiken finishes its season at 6-22.
The contest remained tight through the first eight minutes of play with one tie and Lander mounting no more than a five point lead. Leading 18-16 with 11:52 remaining in the period, the Bearcats mounted a 13-2 run to take a 31-18 lead with 6:46 left. Jarred Jackson put an exclamation point on the run with a long three-pointer to give Lander its biggest lead. The Pacers, however, would not go away. USCA outscored the Bearcats 10-2 over the rest of the period to pull the margin to just five at the half. Tiago DePaula's jumper with 49 seconds left made it 33-28. Zoran Jelenic would miss a pair of free-throws for Lander, and Kingsley Oguchi's trey attempt to pull the Pacers within a basket was off the mark with three seconds left.
Lander finally began to pull away early in the second half. Leading 42-36 with 16:27 left, the Bearcats mounted a 15-4 run to take command of the game. A pair of Michael Griffin free-throws capped the run with 7:19 to play. USCA would make one last-gasp run, getting the margin back to 61-52 with 5:14 left on a Chris Brown jumper, but Lander answered with another 9-2 run to go up 70-54 with 1:54 left. The Pacers would not threaten again over the final minutes.
Jackson led four Bearcats in double digits with 22 points on the night. Scottie Smith posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Griffin added 12 and Emanuel Hodrea 10. The Bearcats shot 56 percent in the second half and 54 percent overall and held a 37-29 advantage on the boards.
DePaula was the only Pacer in double digits with 15 points off the bench to go with five rebounds. Richard Blocker and Oguchi tallied nine each. The Pacers shot just 29 percent in the second half to finish at 37 percent percent overall.
