GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats capped their Peach Belt Conference North Division championship regular season Saturday, treating a large Homecoming crowd to a 70-59 victory over USC Aiken at Horne Arena.
Lander enters the Peach Belt Tournament with an overall record of 17-10, finishing 11-5 in the conference. The Pacers closed the regular season at 9-21, 3-13. Lander swept the season series, winning 80-62 in Aiken on Feb. 10.
The Bearcats will host the Peach Belt Tournament next week.
Lander seniors Jason Davis, Emanuel Hodrea, Michael Griffin and Jarred Jackson were recognized before the game. The senior class helped transform the Bearcats from a seven-win team as freshmen to PBC North Division champs as seniors. Hodrea, Griffin and Jackson played for four years while Davis was at Lander for three and also served his country in Iraq.
Hodrea and Brenton Harris were each 5-for-5 from the floor to pace the Bearcats. Hodrea and Zach Evans led Lander with 11 points apiece while Griffin and Harris each scored 10 points. Davis added nine points.
Darren Pore and Casey McMasters led USC Aiken with 15 points apiece while Jakub Gadomski had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Bearcats had a seven-point halftime lead and maintained that margin through the early portion of the second half. The Pacers put together a small rally, closing within 42-39 at the 11:10 mark on Pore's dunk. But Pore turned the ball over on Aiken's next possession, and committed two fouls including a technical. Griffin and Evans each hit two free throws to push Lander's lead to nine points, 48-39, with 10:01 left in the game.
The Pacers closed the gap once more, pulling within 50-46 on Brandon Shephard's free throw at the 7:25 mark. But Griffin's 3-pointer from the right corner started an 8-0 run, giving the Bearcats a 53-46 lead with 6:06 to go. Dane Sparrow hit two free throws and added a 3-pointer to make it 58-46 at the 5:15 mark.
Davis made a 3-pointer for a 61-49 lead with 3:51 to go. Scottie Smith's dunk off Sparrow's missed lay-up gave Lander its biggest advantage of the game at 63-50 at the 3:21 mark. The Bearcats matched that lead on Griffin's short jumper, making it 67-54 with 42 seconds to go. The seniors were removed from the game when Davis hit a free throw with 25 seconds left.
Lander rallied from an early deficit with eight unanswered points, including a dunk by Harris off a pass in transition from Evans that gave the hosts a 13-12 lead at the 11:10 mark.
After USC Aiken tied the game at 21, Davis converted a three-point play to give the Bearcats the lead for good with 5:21 left in the half. Jackson and Evans hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half to push Lander's lead to 32-25 and 35-28.
The Bearcats made 15 of 29 shots from the floor (52 percent) in the first half with Harris leading the way with a 4-for-4 performance.
For the game, Lander hit 24 of 51 shots from the floor (47 percent), six of 17 from 3-point range (35 percent) and 16 of 24 free throws (67 percent). The Pacers made 22 of 59 shots from the field (37 percent), four of 21 from behind the arc (19 percent), and 11 of 22 free throws (50 percent). Aiken had a 40-37 edge on the boards.
