GREENWOOD – Dwight Tolbert, Corey Wright and Dennis Rumph sparked a crucial Lander rally and the Bearcats survived a late shooting slump to hold off Columbus State 84-79 in a Peach Belt Conference game Saturday afternoon.
Lander stayed unbeaten at home, improving to 9-0 at Horne Arena. The Bearcats are 11-4 overall and 5-3 in the PBC. The Cougars fell to 9-7, 4-3.
Tolbert led Lander with 25 points on nine of 16 shooting from the floor, improving on his 21 points per game average. David Pruett added 19 points including 11 of 11 free throws, and Wright had 16 points and six assists.
Rumph added a double-double for the Bearcats with 12 points and 10 rebounds while contributing four blocked shots, all in the second half.
Steve Peterson led Columbus with 18 points while Paul Darkwa added a double-double, scoring 16 points on seven of 12 shooting while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Winford Ivey added 13 points and five assists for the Cougars.
Lander made 26 of 56 shots from the floor (46 percent), 23 of 30 free throws (77 percent), and seven of 19 from 3-point range (37 percent).
Columbus made 30 of 76 shots (40 percent), 11 of 16 free throws (69 percent), and eight of 30 from 3-point range (27 percent).
The Cougars had a 45-38 edge on the boards.
After Columbus used a 10-2 run to cut what was once a 10-point deficit to one, 60-59, with 11:30 left, the trio of Tolbert, Wright and Rumph went to work for Lander.
Rumph hit one of two free throws, Wright found Tolbert open for 3-pointers on consecutive possessions sandwiched around Rumph's blocked shot at the other end, and Wright converted a three-point play on a goal-tending call to give the Bearcats their biggest lead of the game at 70-59 with 9:26 to go.
Wright converted another three-point play for a 73-62 lead at the 7:48 mark. Rumph changed a shot on the defensive end, Tolbert made a leaping interception of a Columbus pass, threw the ball to Wright in the open who fed Rumph for a dunk that gave Lander a 75-62 advantage with 7:19 left. It was the team's biggest lead of the day.
But Lander went cold over the next six-plus minutes, getting only one free throw by Tolbert while missing eight consecutive shots and committing four turnovers. Columbus took full advantage with a 13-2 run, pulling within 76-75 with 2:03 left on Peterson's 3 from the left side. Peterson had eight of the Cougars' 13 points.
Lander couldn't convert on its end and Columbus got a defensive rebound but was called for traveling. Tolbert was fouled and made one of two free throws for a 77-75 lead with 1:31 left.
Peterson missed a game-tying shot attempt and the Cougars could not save the ball from going out of bounds. Lander ran some time off the clock, then Wright took off toward the basket and made a high arcing shot to increase the Bearcat lead to 79-75 with 37 seconds left. It was Lander's first field goal in almost seven minutes.
Peterson missed a long 3-pointer for Columbus and got his own rebound, but a teammate was called for traveling at the 22-second mark. Pruett was fouled and hit two free throws, extending Lander's lead to 81-75 with 19.6 seconds left.
Ivey's 3-pointer pulled the Cougars within three, and Lander's Darion Canty made one of two free throws. After Rumph blocked Johnathan Murphy's shot, Darkwa got the rebound and laid it in to cut Columbus's deficit to 82-80 with 3.8 seconds left.
Pruett was fouled on the in-bounds play and clinched the victory with a pair of free throws.
The Cougars made an astonishing three 3-pointers in the very first minute of the game, building a 9-3 lead on 3s by Idell Bell, Jarmarquis Steverson and Ivey.
But Lander scored the game's next nine points on baskets by Wright, Tolbert and Jermel Kennedy, and three tie-breaking free throws by Pruett to make it 12-9 at the 16:25 mark. During one of Columbus's possessions, the Cougars missed six shots as Darkwa grabbed three offensive rebounds and Johnathan Murphy two before Pruett finally got a defensive board.
Darkwa converted a game-tying three-point play and Pruett answered with a 3, giving the Bearcats a 15-12 lead.
The Cougars responded with an 11-2 run, including 3s by Bell and Peterson, to build a 23-17 advantage. Ivey's jumper gave Columbus a 27-21 lead with 11:14 left, matching its biggest advantage of the first half.
Lander bounced back with a 10-2 run, as Tolbert's 3-pointer and dunk off a pass from Wright pulled the hosts within one, and Wright's two free throws gave the Bearcats a 28-27 lead. After Darkwa put the Cougars back on top, Tolbert hit another 3 to push Lander ahead 31-29 with 8:10 to go.
After Columbus's Peterson hit a game-tying jumper, Lander's defense fueled a 9-0. Wright hit two free throws to start the rally, Wright's steal led to Rumph converting a layup into a three-point play, Kennedy's steal led to a pair of Rumph free throws, and Tolbert's back-court steal resulted in Rumph making a tough, acrobatic put-back basket for a 40-31 lead at the 6:45 mark. Rumph's basket ended what turned out to be a 19-4 run and Columbus never led again.
Ivey's fast-break layup off Darkwa's steal did pull the Cougars within 40-36. But Lander went on a 9-3 run to take its first double-digit lead of the first half at 49-39 with 2:20 to go. Tolbert, Rumph and Kennedy scored in the paint and Tolbert hit a 3. Meanwhile, Columbus had another long possession where it missed four shots.
Murphy's put-back closed the Cougars within 51-43 at halftime.
The Bearcats and Columbus traded baskets early in the second half until Pruett's 3 increased Lander's lead to nine, 58-49, with 16:08 left.
But the Bearcats had a missed shot and three turnovers in their next four possessions, and Columbus took advantage closing within a possession, 58-55, as Darius McKnight scored twice inside and Steverson also scored.
But after Tolbert scored for Lander, McKnight and Darkwa scored to pull the Cougars within 60-59 at the 11:30 mark.
