GREENWOOD – Lander's Greg Smalls hit the go-ahead basket with 48.5 seconds left and the Bearcats outlasted UNC Pembroke 71-69 in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Monday night at Horne Arena.
Lander stayed unbeaten in the PBC, improving to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in the league for the first time in Bruce Evans' five years as Bearcats head coach. The Braves fell to 3-7, 0-3.
Houston Wright and Ford “Scooter” Lawrence led Lander with 11 points apiece while Curtis Milner added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Lawrence, who scored all his points in the first half, led the Bearcats with six assists. Brenton Harris had two blocked shots for Lander.
Pembroke's Brandon Thomas led all scorers with 20 points, with 15 coming in the first half on 7-of-7 shooting. Thomas finished 8-for-9 from the floor and added a game-high eight rebounds. Cortez Brown added 15 points, Demarcus Lyday scored 13 points, and Marcus Heath had six assists for the Braves.
The first 11 minutes of the second half remained tight with no lead of more than four points. There were ties at 40, 42, 51, 53, 58 and 60, and several lead changes.
Kevin Kelley's 3-pointer gave Lander a 65-61 lead with 3:42 left in the game. But Brown hit two free throws and Thomas one to pull Pembroke within 65-64 with less than three minutes left.
Milner's free throw with 2:32 left gave the Bearcats a 66-64 lead and Wright's steal returned the possession to Lander. But Milner missed the front end of a one-and-one and Pembroke's Lyday responded with a three-point play to put the visitors up 67-66 with 1:34 remaining.
Each team had a turnover on their next possessions, but the Bearcats made good on their next opportunity. Wright, looking for someone to pass to, couldn't find anyone open and took a jumper that was off the mark. Smalls grabbed the rebound and hit a short jumper off the glass to put Lander back on top, 68-67, with 48.5 seconds left.
Pembroke's Lyday missed a jumper from inside the top of the key and the Braves were called for a foul on the rebound. Wright hit both free throws to increase the Bearcat lead to 70-67 with 31 seconds to go.
Lyday hit a short jumper in the lane to pull Pembroke within 70-69 with 18.6 seconds left. Dane Sparrow made one of two free throws to give Lander a 71-69 lead with 14 seconds to go.
The Braves had one last chance. Lyday drove up the court and took an off-balance jumper that was off the mark and the clock ran out as neither team was able to secure the rebound.
Pembroke started the game fast, racing to a 21-11 lead with 12 minutes left with Brown, Thomas and Jason Smith scoring five points apiece and David Moore adding a dunk. Over the next two minutes, the Bearcats closed within three, 23-20, with the last points coming on Sparrow's 3-pointer.
Thomas' jumper gave the Braves a 31-24 lead with just under six minutes to go. But Lander responded with a 9-0 run with Lawrence tying the game at 31 when he made a driving back-door lay-up and Wright giving the hosts a 33-31 lead at the 3:52 mark.
John Walters hit a 3-pointer and Smith hit two free throws to put Pembroke back on top, 36-33. But the Bearcats closed the half with a 7-2 run on Lawrence's 3-pointer and jumper, and Jacob Davis's two free throws for a 40-38 halftime lead.
For the game, Lander made 25 of 54 shots from the floor (46 percent), 13 of 20 free throws (65 percent), and eight of 20 from 3-point range (40 percent). Pembroke hit 23 of 50 shots (46 percent), 18 of 21 free throws (86 percent), and five of 11 from behind the arc (46 percent). The Bearcats had a 33-29 edge on the boards and each team had 20 turnovers.
