GREENWOOD----The Lander men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with No. 8 Wingate University Tuesday night before falling in the final minutes, 82-77, in a non-conference game in Horne Arena.

Wingate improves to 1-2 on the season, while Lander heads into Saturday's 2 o'clock matchup with Southern Wesleyan at 1-2.

Lander placed five players in double figures led by Brenton Harris' 20 points and 10 rebounds. Harris connected on 8-of-11 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws. Curtis Milner added 17 points for the Bearcats, Houston Wright 16, Scottie Smith 12 and Ford "Scooter" Lawrence 10. Smith also had five rebounds, while Harris and Milner collected two blocks each, and Lawrence dished off five assists.

Wingate was paced by Sean Barnette and Brandon Plummer, who scored 18 points each. Rosco Turner added 17 points for the Bulldogs and Bryan Grier netted 14. Grier and Plummer grabbed eight rebounds each, while Turner had five assists. Grier also had three blocked shots.

Lander connected on 27-of-58 field goals for 46.6 percent, 7-of-18 three-pointers for 38.9 percent and 16-of-23 free throws for 69.6 percent.

Wingate made 27-of-60 field goals (45 percent), 8-of-21 threes (38.1 percent) and 20-of-28 free throws (71.4 percent).

After being tied 41-41 at halftime, Wingate scored seven unanswered points to start the second half and take a 48-41 lead on a Barnette three-pointer. Lander tied the game at 52-52 with 15:14 remaining when Harris grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked it.

Lander took its last lead at 64-63 on a Harris layup with 5:06 remaining.

Plummer's three-pointer at 4:49 gave the Bulldogs a 66-64 lead, which they built up to as many as seven points, 80-73, with 13 seconds left in the game.