GREENWOOD – Lander's David Pruett scored a career-high 34 points and Jermel Kennedy added a double-double as the Bearcats survived an outstanding performance by Greenwood County native Nick Lagroone and beat Southern Wesleyan University 98-91 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Lander broke a four-game losing streak, evening its record at 4-4. The Warriors fell to 5-4.

Lagroone, who played at Ninety Six High School, scored 37 points for Southern Wesleyan before fouling out with five minutes to go. He made his first eight shots from the floor and finished 10 of 14, including seven of nine from 3-point range and 10 of 11 free throws.

Pruett hit 11 of 19 shots from the floor, including seven of 12 from behind the arc and five of five free throws. The Armstrong Atlantic State transfer's previous career high was 21 points in a game for the Pirates last season.

Kennedy had 16 points and 15 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Tovi Bailey had 14 points and seven assists for the Bearcats, Marcus Broughton added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Calvin Liptrot had eight points and six assists.

Nikola Lambic scored 24 points for the Warriors, making nine of 14 shots. Michael Corpening added a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds while adding six assists and two blocked shots.

Both teams shot well with Lander hitting 35 of 74 from the floor (47 percent), 10 of 25 from 3-point range (40 percent), and 18 of 23 free throws (78 percent). The Bearcats had 21 assists on 35 baskets.

Southern Wesleyan made 32 of 68 shots (47 percent), 10 of 27 from behind the arc (37 percent), and 17 of 24 free throws (71 percent). The Warriors were over 50 percent from the floor well into the second half.

There were only 21 turnovers in the game, with Lander committing just four in the first half and 11 overall.

After Lagroone's free throw pulled Southern Wesleyan within 11-9 with 13 minutes left in the first half, Lander scored nine unanswered points over the next three minutes to build a 20-9 lead. Broughton hit a free throw to start the rally, Pruett made an off-balance 3-pointer off an in-bounds pass from Bailey, Pruett converted a three-point play, and Broughton made a layup off an interior pass from Liptrot for the 11-point lead.

Lagroone's second 3-pointer of the day and Teandre Hood's jumper ended the run and pulled the Warriors within 20-15. But the Bearcats responded with a series of 3s from the right corner, with Pruett swishing two and Bailey one for a 31-21 advantage with six minutes left. Pruett's put-back gave Lander its biggest lead of the half at 12 points, 33-21.

But Lagroone and Brandon Jankowy kept Southern Wesleyan in the game, each hitting a pair of 3s over the last 3:41 of the half. Lagroone's long 3-pointer with seven seconds left pulled the visitors within 47-40 at the break.

Lagroone was 7-for-7 from the floor, made all five of his 3-point attempts, and hit four of five free throws for 23 points in the first half. Pruett had 16 points in the first half, making six of 10 from the floor. Meanwhile, Kennedy was closing in on his double-double with nine points and nine rebounds already.

Lander opened the second half with one of its most impressive plays of the year with Kennedy on the receiving end of an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Bailey. Kennedy was also fouled and converted the three-point play for a 50-40 lead.

But the Warriors stormed back to tie with a 14-4 run, including Lambic's three baskets in the paint and another Lagroone 3-pointer. However, Lagroone finally missed a shot at the 17:30 mark after making his first eight. Hood's driving layup tied the game at 54 at the 15:05 mark.

The Bearcats responded with a 15-4 run, building a 69-58 lead with Liptrot leading the way. Liptrot converted a three-point play and made a 3-pointer, and Pruett also made a trey during the run.

Lagroone led another Warriors rally, hitting a basket and four of four free throws to close the gap to 75-70 with nine minutes to go. The last free throw gave him 36 points on the night, but he was charged with his fourth foul at the 8:27 mark and would sit on the bench for about two minutes.

Lander would extend its lead with a 9-3 run, including Broughton's three baskets in the paint and Pruett's 3-pointer for an 84-73 lead.

Perhaps the key play of the game occurred with 5:20 left when Pruett drew Lagroone's fifth foul, ending his afternoon. Pruett made both free throws for an 86-75 lead and followed with his seventh 3-pointer of the day on Lander's next trip down the floor for the team's biggest lead of the game at 14 points.

The Bearcats twice led by 16 points, 91-75 on Kennedy's basket and 93-77 on Broughton's jumper in the paint. Lambic's three-point play pulled Southern within 95-88 with 30 seconds left, but Bailey made three of four free throws in the final seconds.