GREENWOOD – Emanuel Hodrea's tip-in was apparently a split second too late for Lander.
Armstrong Atlantic State University, ranked No. 21 in the country, maintained a seven-point lead with 1:25 left and survived a furious Lander rally, edging the Bearcats 55-54 in a Peach Belt Conference men's game Saturday night at Horne Arena.
Armstrong's William Kane missed the front end of a one-and-one with nine seconds left and the Pirates clinging to the 55-54 lead. Hodrea grabbed the defensive rebound and got the ball to guard Michael Griffin, who drove to the basket but missed a lay-up that bounced off the front of the rim. Hodrea fought for the rebound and tipped it into the basket. Lander's players celebrated an apparent last-second victory, but the official had already waived the shot off indicating it was after the buzzer.
Tory Harris led the Pirates (13-4 overall, 4-2 Peach Belt) with 24 points while Brian Taylor added 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Lander guard tandem of Griffin (18 points) and Jarred Jackson (16) scored a combined 34 points for the hosts, but no one else scored more than 5. Twenty-six of their 34 points came in the first half.
Curtis Milner had seven rebounds and four blocked shots for the Bearcats, who fell to 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the Peach Belt.
Armstrong came out hot to start the second half, outscoring the Bearcats 16-4 over the first seven minutes to turn a six-point halftime deficit into a 42-36 lead at the 12:50 mark. Harris scored 10 of those 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Lander's Milner ended the run with just the team's second basket of the second half, making it 42-38 with 12:30 to go.
But the Pirates pushed the lead to 48-39 on Kevin Parker's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8:40 left. Zach Evans hit a 3-pointer from the left corner to pull the Bearcats within 48-44 with 7:05 to go. The scoring pace slowed down with Armstrong maintaining a 51-46 lead under the four-minute mark.
Harris hit a jumper to give the Pirates a 53-46 lead with 3:22 left. Lander's Dane Sparrow hit two free throws to close the gap to 53-48 at the 1:54 mark. Kane hit a short jumper to push Armstrong's lead back to seven, 55-48, with 1:25 to go. But Lander responded with a rally.
Griffin's two free throws pulled the Bearcats within 55-50 at the 1:18 mark, then Jackson's steal and lay-up – his first basket of the second half – made it 55-52 with 1:10 left.
Armstrong missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Lander missed a shot and Kane went to the floor and called a time-out to secure the ball for the Pirates. But Armstrong was called for a five-second violation, returning the ball to the Bearcats. With 20.8 seconds left, Milner scored off an inside pass from Jackson to pull Lander within a point, 55-54.
The Pirates struggled to get the ball up the court before finding Kane who was fouled. But he missed the front end of a one-and-one, setting the stage for the wild finish.
After Armstrong raced to an early 9-2 lead, the Bearcats went on a 22-7 run behind Jackson's three 3-pointers and Griffin's nine points. The 18 points from Jackson and Griffin gave Lander a 24-16 lead.
The Bearcats took their largest lead of the first half when Sparrow drained a long 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired to make it 33-21 with 1:40 left. Lander led 32-26 at halftime with 26 of the points coming from Jackson (14 points) and Griffin (12).
For the game, Lander made 19 of 57 shots from the floor (33 percent), 9 of 17 from the free-throw line (53 percent), and 7 of 20 from 3-point range (35 percent). Armstrong hit 22 of 53 shots (42 percent) from the field, 6 of 14 free throws (43 percent), and 5 of 16 from behind the arc (31 percent). The Pirates had a 39-38 rebounding edge.
