MARS HILL, N.C. - Jareal Smith and David Pruett scored 28 and 26 points respectively Saturday afternoon to lead the Lander men's basketball team to an 86-76 non-conference victory over Mars Hill College.

Lander improves to 2-0 on the season, while Mars Hill drops to 1-1.

Jareal Smith connected on 10-of-18 field goals (3-of-6 threes) and 5-of-6 free throws, while Pruett was 7-of-11 from the field (4-of-8 threes) and a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line. Pruett led the Bearcats in rebounds with nine, while Darius Carrier added 12 points and eight rebounds, Dermaine Smith 12 points and five rebounds, and Corey Wright 13 assists and eight points.

Mars Hill's Corey Greene netted 19 points, while Jalen Witherspoon had 15 points and seven rebounds and Khouraichi Thiam nine points and eight rebounds.

Lander, which led 44-43 at halftime, connected on 31-of-57 field goals for 54.4 percent, including 8-of-17 threes for 47.1 percent, and 16-of-18 free throws for 88.9 percent.

The Lions made 29-of-63 floor shots for 46 percent, including 9-of-20 threes for 45 percent, and 9-of-12 foul shots for 75 percent.

After battling through early ties at 7-7 and 10-10, Mars Hill eased out to a 16-12 lead on a Thiam jumper, only to have Lander take 17-16 lead on a Darius Carrier dunk with 13:18 left in the half.

Mars Hill regained the lead at 18-17 on a Witherspoon tip-in at 13:04, but, again, Lander came right back to retake the lead at 20-18 on a Jareal Smith three.

Lander stretched its advantage to 25-18 on three Pruett free throws at 10:27.

The Lions battled back to tie the game at 39-all on a Kevin Haynes three pointer with 1:51 left in the half, but the Bearcats regrouped to claim a 44-43 lead at halftime.

Lander opened the second half with a 11-2 run to take a 55-45 lead with 17:01 left on a Jareal Smith jumper.

After extending the lead to 14 points at 63-49 with 13:48 left to play, Mars Hill gradually whittled the Bearcat lead to one point at 72-71 with 5:36 remaining to play.

The Bearcats closed out the game on a 14-5 scoring spree to claim the win.