GREENWOOD – Dwight Tolbert scored 30 points as the Lander Bearcats built a 20-point lead midway through the second half and held off North Georgia College & State University's ferocious rally, 93-89, Wednesday night in Peach Belt Conference action at Horne Arena.
Tolbert's two free throws with 11 seconds left clinched the win after the Saints had cut a 73-53 deficit to 91-89, outscoring Lander 36-18 over the final 10 minutes until Tolbert's free throws ended the scoring.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor in the game, including the Bearcats making nine of 12 from 3-point range.
Lander improved to 10-4 overall and 4-3 in the Peach Belt. The Bearcats improved to 8-0 at home.
The Saints fell to 7-10, 2-4.
Tolbert made 10 of 17 shots from the floor, including five of six from 3-point range to lead all scorers. The senior also made five of six free throws, including four in the final minute.
David Pruett added 14 points for the Bearcats, Darion Canty tied a season-high with 13 points, Dennis Rumph had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench, and Corey Wright had nine points and nine assists despite missing several minutes due to injury.
Clarence Tillman led North Georgia with a double-double, collecting 24 points and 10 rebounds. Pat Moynihan added 22 points, making seven of 11 shots from the floor and seven of seven free throws.
Scott Windom added 12 points for the Saints, and Chaun Tinney scored 10 points.
Lander made 30 of 56 shots from the floor (54 percent) and 24 of 30 free throws (80 percent) in addition to the 3-point shooting.
North Georgia made 33 of 62 shots (53 percent), 16 of 22 free throws (73 percent) and seven of 17 from behind the arc (41 percent).
The Bearcats had a 31-28 edge on the boards.
Pruett hit a 3 to give the Bearcats their first 20-point lead of the game at 69-49 with 12:49 left. Rumph's dunk off Pruett's pass made it 71-51. It was 73-53 with 10:28 left on a basket by Tolbert.
But Lander struggled to put the game away after Wright went out with an injury near the 12-minute mark and Pruett fouled out with 7:43 to go.
Tillman hit a 3 as the Saints pulled within 15 at 73-58 with 9:31 to go, and he had another 3-point attempt rim out on North Georgia's next trip.
The Saints continued to chip away at the lead as Moynihan made four of four free throws, pulling them within 10 points at 75-65 with 5:53 left. After Tolbert made one of two free throws, North Georgia closed within single digits at 76-67 on Tillman's long jumper at the 5:17 mark.
With Wright back in the game with 5:40 to go, Lander's Canty and North Georgia's Moynihan (on a goal-tending call) exchanged baskets. But the Bearcats finally got a big basket when Cody Waterworth hit a 3 from the right corner, making it 81-69 at the four-minute mark.
Still, the Saints kept coming. Tillman hit another jumper and after a Lander turnover, Windom made a 3 to close the deficit to 81-74.
Rumph's second effort put-back and Waterworth's two free throws gave the Bearcats some breathing room again at 85-74 with 2:25 to go.
After Tinney made a free throw for North Georgia, Michael Lowe, off the Lander bench, sliced inside for a driving layup and an 87-75 lead.
But Tinney's three-point play and Tillman's back-court steal and layup pulled the Saints within 87-80 at the two-minute mark.
Lowe hit two free throws for Lander, but Moynihan made a layup off a loose ball to make it 89-82. After Wright missed a shot and two follow-up tip-in attempts failed, Moynihan drew a foul and hit two free throws to pull the Saints within 89-84 with 51.4 seconds to go.
Tolbert made two free throws, but Smith's wide open dunk off a pass from Travis Core cut it to 91-86 with 40.7 seconds left.
After Tolbert was called for a charge, Core drove to the basket for a layup, and the Saints were only down 91-88 with 27.9 seconds remaining.
Things got more interesting when Lander failed to get the ball in-bounds, turning the ball back over to North Georgia. The Saints dribbled about 16 seconds off the clock before Core was fouled and hit one of two free throws for a 91-89 deficit with 11 seconds left.
North Georgia's Smith fouled Tolbert on the ensuing inbounds play and Tolbert hit both free throws for a four-point lead. The Saints had 11 seconds still left but failed to get a shot off.
Pruett's four-point play when he was fouled on a 3-pointer gave Lander an 8-6 lead at the 15:09 mark. Tinney hit a pair of 3-pointers, giving the Saints a 17-13 lead with 13:25 left. But the Bearcats regained the advantage for good with six unanswered points, including Rumph's basket in the paint, Tolbert's fast-break basket, and Wright's layup off a long pass from Tolbert to make it 19-17 at the 12-minute mark.
After Smith pulled North Georgia within 21-20, Tolbert made a move inside and dunked, Canty nailed two jumpers in a row, and Pruett hit a pair of free throws to extend Lander's lead to 29-20 with eight minutes left.
Tillman's 3 and Moynihan's layup off a pass inside from Tillman closed the Saints within 33-28 with 5:47 to go.
But the Bearcats extended their lead into double figures for the first time with an 11-0 run that included Pruett's 3-pointer, Kennedy's three-point play, Canty's jumper, and Tolbert's 3 from the right corner for a 47-30 advantage with 2:18 left.
Lander hit the 50-point mark on Tolbert's mid-range jumper, making it 50-32 with 57 seconds to go. Wright broke inside and made a scoop shot in the final seconds for a 52-34 halftime lead.
Moyniham's three-point play cut North Georgia's deficit to 15 points at 56-41 with 17:36 left. But the lead grew back to 19 on Tolbert's 3-pointer and Wright's free throw, making it 60-41 with 16:37 left.
The Saints tried to keep pace as Moynihan and Tillman hit 3s on consecutive possessions to cut their deficit back to 15. But they couldn't keep up with Tolbert, whose fifth 3 in six attempts increased the Lander lead to 66-49 with 13:06 to go. The lead seemed safe, but North Georgia kept battling.
