GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats placed four players in double figures and earned their first Peach Belt Conference victory of the season, 69-51, over UNC Pembroke Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Tovi Bailey led Lander (6-8, 1-5) with 14 points, Greg Smalls scored 12 points, and Antonio Pope and Dane Sparrow added 10 points apiece.
Pope added eight rebounds and Curtis Milner had four blocked shots. Bailey was 5-for-7 from the floor and added five assists. The Bearcats never trailed in the game.
Shahmel Brackett led the Braves (5-9, 1-4) with 20 points while Brandon Thomas added a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The game was marked by poor free throw shooting as the Bearcats made only 14 of 30 (47 percent) and Pembroke nine of 18 (50 percent).
Lander evened its season series with the Braves after losing at Pembroke in December.
The Bearcats got off to a quick start with Bailey hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Smalls adding a jumper for an 8-0 lead. Pembroke closed within one point three times, 12-11, 14-13, and 16-15. But that was as close as it would get as Smalls made consecutive baskets and Harris also scored to build the lead to 22-15.
Milner’s layup off a nifty interior pass from Pope pushed the lead to eight, 27-19. But Nate Priest scored back-to-back buckets inside to pull the Braves within 27-23.
The Bearcats closed the half on a 9-2 run. Harris and Pope scored in the paint to start the run, Sparrow made a free throw, Pope emphatically dunked an offensive rebound, and Sparrow hit a jumper for a 36-25 advantage at the intermission.
Lander continued its run into the second half, scoring the first four points after the intermission on Smalls’ jumper and Pope’s put-back for a 40-25 lead with 16:20 left.
Jacob Mochoskay’s 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Bearcats their largest lead of the game at 16 points, 47-31, with 13:55 to go.
Kevin Kelley’s 3-pointer from the same spot increased the lead to 52-33 at the 10:16 mark.
Pembroke cut its 19-point deficit down to 12, 52-40, with a 7-0 run that included Mike Robinson’s three-point play with seven-plus minutes left. The Braves still trailed by 12, 54-42, when Thomas hit a pair of free throws with 4:59 to go.
The Bearcats were still up 12, 56-44, when they embarked on a crucial 5-0 run. Milner scored at the rim and Sparrow hit a long 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire, making it 61-44 with 2:45 left.
While the rest of the team was struggling from the line, Kelley went 4-for-4 from the stripe in the final 1:28 to help close out the victory.
For the game, Lander made 25 of 53 shots from the floor (47 percent) and five of 13 from 3-point range (39 percent). The Braves made 19 of 58 shots (33 percent) and four of 19 from behind the arc (21 percent). Pembroke had a 43-39 edge on the boards.
