GREENWOOD – Curtis Milner scored 15 points as the Lander Bearcats held off Southern Wesleyan 69-62 in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Finis Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 2-2 while Southern Wesleyan dropped to 2-3.
Milner hit seven of 10 shots from the field to lead the Bearcats. Travis Allison and Ford “Scooter” Lawrence added 11 points apiece for Lander while Scottie Smith scored 10 points. Also leading the Bearcats were Lawrence with six assists, Smith with six rebounds, and Milner with three blocked shots.
Ty Horton led the Warriors with 13 points, Daniel Wilson added 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Davon Garnder scored 10 points.
Southern Wesleyan opened the second half on an 11-2 run, cutting a 33-22 halftime deficit to 35-33 on Horton's 3-pointer from the right corner with 14:40 left in the game.
But Dane Sparrow's wide-open lay-up off a pass from Lawrence started the Bearcats on a 16-3 run. Smith had a pair of baskets during the run, Allison added a 3-pointer, and Milner scored three baskets to make it 51-36 with 8:31 left. Now facing a 15-point deficit, Gardner's three-point play ended the run for Southern Wesleyan.
The Warriors scrapped back into the game with a 19-8 run, closing within 59-55 with two minutes left on a free throw by Darryl Edwards. Allison's two free throws extended Lander's lead to 61-55 with 1:46 to go.
After Alto Marshall's free throw pulled Southern within 61-56 at the 1:05 mark, Lawrence saved a near turnover in the back-court and drove for a lay-up to extend the Bearcats lead to 63-56 with 42 seconds to go. Gardner's basket closed the Warriors within 65-60 with 21 seconds left. Allison and Houston Wright each hit a pair of free throws to close out the victory.
The Bearcats outscored Southern Wesleyan 17-3 over the last eight minutes of the first half to build a 33-22 halftime advantage. Nick Lagroone hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors their last lead at 19-16 at the 8:17 mark. Southern Wesleyan would make just one of nine shots the rest of the half.
After Lagroone's basket, Lander would score the game's next 11 points. Smith scored inside to give the Bearcats the lead for good at 20-19 with 6:42 to go. Wright added a pair of 3-pointers during Lander's run.
For the game, Lander made 24 of 58 shots from the floor (41 percent), seven of 22 from behind the 3-point line (32 percent), and 14 of 19 free throws (74 percent). Southern hit 19 of 60 shots (32 percent), five of 17 from behind the arc (29 percent), and 19 of 28 free throws (68 percent). The Warriors had a 47-35 advantage on the boards while each team committed 15 turnovers.
