GREENWOOD – David Pruett had another big scoring day, pouring in 28 points including six points in the final minute as the Lander Bearcats held off Lenoir-Rhyne 72-66 in the final game of the Bearcat Holiday Classic Thursday afternoon at Finis Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 6-4 on the season while the Bears fell to 2-8.
Pruett, who scored 26 points in a first round victory over Hiwassee College on Wednesday, hit eight of 12 shots from the floor including six of 10 from behind the arc. His most important work was in the final minute when he hit a 3-pointer to give the Bearcats a six-point lead, and added three free throws in the last 19 seconds.
Pruett was Lander's only double-figure scorer. Tovi Bailey nearly had a double-double for the Bearcats with nine points and nine rebounds, and Darion Canty also scored nine points. Jermel Kennedy led Lander with nine rebounds and six steals.
Kevin Davis led four players in double figures for L-R with 17 points, Allan Jones scored 15 points, R.J. McClure scored 12, and Bryce Hawkins 10. Jeff Thomas added nine points and a team-high six rebounds.
Lander had built double-figure leads in each half, but couldn't put the Bears away. The Bearcats had gone almost seven minutes without a field goal until Pruett hit an off-balance 3-pointer to give Lander a 69-63 lead with 49 seconds left. But McClure answered with a trey from the left corner, pulling L-R within 69-66 with 24.7 seconds left.
Lander made a concerted effort to get the ball into Pruett's hands, and he hit one of two free throws with 19 seconds to go. McClure missed a 3-pointer on the other end, and Pruett hit two more free throws in the final 10 seconds to close the scoring.
For the game, Lander made 26 of 48 shots from the floor (54 percent), only 11 of 22 free throws (50 percent), and nine of 17 from 3-point range (53 percent).
Lenoir-Rhyne, missing their best player D.J. Blackmon, made 21 of 52 shots (40 percent), 16 of 24 free throws (67 percent), and eight of 20 from behind the arc (40 percent).
Lander out-rebounded the Bears 34-29.
After watching a 14-point lead shrink to two over the final minutes of the first half, the Bearcats came out strong to start the second half. Leading 37-35 at the break, Lander opened the second half with a 12-2 run.
Pruett hit a 3-pointer, then stole a pass and drove nearly the length of the floor for a layup to make it 45-37. Darius Carrier and Kennedy followed with baskets to complete the run, making it 49-37 with 15:29 left.
Lenoir-Rhyne responded with five unanswered points when Jones hit two free throws and Hawkins made a 3-pointer, cutting it to 49-42 with 12:55 to go. Pruett ended Lander's three-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer, increasing the lead back into double figures at 52-42 with 12:22 left.
Pruett hit another 3 from the opposite side of the court to complete his personal six-point run, making it 55-42. Another Lenoir-Rhyne run closed the deficit back into single digits, 57-48, with 9:25 to go.
The Bearcats upped their lead back to 13 again when Canty hit a leaning 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire, making it 62-49 at the 7:51 mark. But it would be Lander's last field goal until Pruett's 3 in the final minute.
The Bears took advantages of the lapses, using a 7-0 run to pull within 62-56 on a three-point play by Jones with 5:24 left.
Calvin Liptrot hit two important free throws to end a three-plus minute scoring drought for Lander, increasing its lead to eight points with 4:38 to go.
Lenoir-Rhyne continued to battle back with Thomas making two free throws with 3:26 left and McClure banking in a layup at the 1:52 mark to close the gap to 64-60. After Pruett's free throws increased Lander's lead to 66-60, the Bears clawed within one possession on McClure's 3-pointer to make it 66-63 at the 1:01 mark.
The game was tight at the beginning with the Bearcats holding an 8-6 lead that they stretched to 13-6 on Bailey's coast-to-coast driving layup and Pruett's 3-pointer from the right corner.
After Jones hit a 3-pointer to pull L-R within 18-16 at the 12-minute mark, Lander scored 12 unanswered points to build a 30-16 lead with seven minutes to go. Stefan Tabasevic sparked the run with six points, including a free throw, 3-pointer, and a layup. Marcus Broughton also had a three-point play during the run.
But the Bearcats had a run of turnovers, and Lenoir-Rhyne took advantage with a huge run of 13 unanswered points. Davis scored seven of those points with a 3-pointer and two baskets inside, and Jones made a layup to pull the Bears within 32-31 at the 2:13 mark.
Lander's five-minute scoring drought ended when Bailey hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with one second left on the shot clock for a 35-31 lead with 1:38 to go.
Kennedy scored off a steal to increase the lead to 37-32 with 29 seconds left, but Hawkins nailed a 3 from the left corner in the final seconds to pull the Bears within 37-35 at the break. L-R closed the half with a 17-5 run.
