ROCK HILL, S.C. – Facing a Division I program that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament nine of the past 12 years, the Lander Bearcats met the challenge by battling Winthrop University to a tie over the first 27 minutes of the game. But the Eagles used a 22-3 run to break the final tie and pulled away from Lander, 65-46, Saturday night at Winthrop Coliseum.
The Division II Bearcats, who battled to a 38-all tie with 13 minutes left in the game, fell to 3-2 overall. The Eagles, who broke the 38-all tie with 15 unanswered points, improved to 3-3.
Andre Jones led defending Big South Conference champion Winthrop with 20 points, making eight of 11 shots from the floor. Robbie Dreher added 12 points, including several key plays during the late run. George Valentine led the Eagles with eight rebounds. Justin Burton added eight points and seven assists.
Jermel Kennedy paced Lander with 12 points and five rebounds, Tovi Bailey added 10 points and Calvin Liptrot scored nine points.
For the game, Winthrop hit 26 of 51 shots from the floor (51 percent), eight of 10 free throws (80 percent), and five of 14 from 3-point range (36 percent).
Lander made 19 of 57 shots (33 percent), seven of 15 free throws (47 percent), and only one of 14 from 3-point range (7 percent).
Winthrop had a 42-27 edge on the boards. Lander committed only eight turnovers to 18 for the Eagles.
Jones scored three baskets in the first two minutes of the game to stake Winthrop to a 6-0 lead. But the Bearcats stormed back to tie on Bailey's two layups and Kennedy's fast-breakup basket off Liptrot's steal.
Jones, however, scored six more points in a row, restoring the six-point Eagles lead, this time on a pair of 3-pointers to make it 12-6. Winthrop still led by six, 16-10, when Lander made another run to not only tie the game, but to take its first lead of the game.
Kennedy, Liptrot and Darion Canty scored to close the gap to two, and Quentin Bastion scored in the paint to tie the game at 18 with 8:45 left in the half. Winthrop regained the lead, but Canty's basket made it 20-all and David Pruett gave the Bearcats their first lead, 22-20, with two free throws at the 7:29 mark.
The Eagles responded with eight unanswered points and were once again up by six, 28-22, on Matt Morgan's dunk with 5:04 to go.
But Lander responded once more, closing the first half with a 6-2 run to pull within 30-28 at the break. Bailey's steal and fast-break basket with 51 seconds left were the final points of the half.
Bailey's jumper in the opening seconds of the second half tied the game at 30, and Kennedy's free throws gave the Bearcats the lead with 17:37 remaining. It would be the last lead of the game for the visitors.
Winthrop was scoreless until four minutes into the second half when Burton hit two free throws to tie the game at 32, and Gideon Gamble's jumper put the Eagles back on top at the 15:26 mark.
But Liptrot scored in the paint to tie it and Bailey followed a Winthrop basket with a pair of free throws to knot the game at 36 at the 13:47 mark. Kennedy's tip-in off Canty's missed 3-pointer produced the fifth tie of the second half at 38 just under the 13-minute mark.
But the Eagles finally broke the cycle of trading points, taking a 42-38 lead on Dreher's free throws and a fast-break basket by Jones. And after a Lander turnover, Dreher and Burton drained back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Winthrop's lead to 48-38 with nine minutes left.
The Eagles streak continued when Jones scored inside and after another Lander turnover, Dreher hit another trey for a 53-38 lead with 7:50 to go.
Liptrot's 3-pointer at the 7:24 mark ended Lander's five-plus minute scoring drought and halted Winthrop's unanswered scoring streak at 15 points.
But Morgan responded with another dunk as the Eagles expanded their lead back to 14 points, 55-41, with 6:41 to go. Gamble scored in the paint and Burton converted a three-point play, giving Winthrop its largest lead of the night at 60-41 at the 3:54 mark.
Freshman Mac Mitchell ended the 22-3 run with a free throw for Lander, and added a fast-break basket to pull the Bearcats within 18, 62-44, with one minute left. Another freshman, Cody Waterworth, scored Lander's final points on a basket with 46 seconds to go.
