GREENWOOD – Xavier Trice and Nick Pope combined for 33 points, helping North Georgia College & State University hold off Lander 61-59 in a Peach Belt Conference game Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
The Saints improved to 17-10 overall and 12-8 in the Peach Belt. Lander fell to 9-17 overall and 6-13 in the PBC.
Trice scored 17 points, Pope scored 16, and Anthony Rowe added 12 points. Pope led North Georgia with seven rebounds.
Zach Evans led Lander with 11 points while Scottie Smith and Curtis Milner scored 10 apiece. Brenton Harris was the game's top rebounder with 12.
After Smith scored six early points, Evans, Travis Allison, Dane Sparrow, Ford "Scooter" Lawrence and Houston Wright hit 3-pointers to stake Lander to a 33-22 lead with 3:34 left before halftime. But North Georgia closed the first half on an 11-2 run on two 3-pointers by Andre Morgan and one by Pope to close within 35-33 at halftime.
Evans hit a 3-pointer to stake the Bearcats to a 40-34 lead early in the second half. But North Georgia scored seven unanswered points, taking its first lead since the early stages of the game at 41-40 on Lee Burrell's free throw with 14:51 to go.
Lawrence put Lander back on top with a 3-pointer and Milner scored in the paint, giving the hosts a 46-41 advantage. The Saints rattled off nine unanswered points, taking the lead on Andrew Bennett's basket and going up 50-46 with 8:09 left on Rowe's three-point play.
Lander tied the game at 50 with seven minutes left on Sparrow's free throw and Lawrence's 3-pointer. Pope's 3-pointer put North Georgia back on top, 53-50, but the Bearcats tied the game at 53 with 5:33 left on a Harris basket and Milner free throw.
The Saints went back on top on Pope's jumper and Trice's 3-pointer, making it 58-53 with 4:23 to go. Lander's Harris and North Georgia's Trice traded baskets and the visitors still led by five, 60-55.
The Bearcats got closer when Smith hit two free throws at the 2:13 mark and Milner scored on a put-back, pulling the Bearcats within 60-59 with 1:21 left. After the Saints were called for an offensive foul, Milner missed inside and North Georgia got the defensive rebound with approximately 30 seconds left.
Trice was fouled with 8.2 seconds left and hit the first of two free throws for a 61-59 lead. Evans drove inside and with two defenders draped on him, took a jumper from the left side of the basket in the final seconds that bounced off the rim, leaving the Bearcats short.
For the game, Lander made 20 of 53 shots from the floor (38 percent), 11 of 14 free throws (79 percent), and eight of 23 from behind the 3-point line (35 percent). The Saints hit 22 of 51 shots from the floor (43 percent), 10 of 15 free throws (67 percent), and seven of 19 from behind the arc (37 percent). Lander had a 39-29 edge on the boards.
