GREENWOOD – Lander's Dermaine Smith posted a double-double as the Bearcats used a 44-20 run to turn an early 16-point deficit into a second half lead and held off Peach Belt Conference rival Columbus State University 81-80 Thursday night at Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 7-5 overall and 1-2 in the Peach Belt. The Cougars, who got nine 3-pointers from R.J. Sessions, fell to 7-3, 1-2.

Dermaine Smith hit 10 of 15 shots from the floor and all four of his free throws to lead the Bearcats with 24 points to go along with 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Jareal Smith scored 14 points for Lander, Michael Panaggio added 12 points and four assists, and JR Washington scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

Sessions had an impressive game for Columbus, making nine of 12 attempts from 3-point range and 10 of 14 overall, leading all scorers with 29 points.

Kenney Funderburk added 18 points and five assists for the Cougars, Shane Heyward had 13 points and eight rebounds, and DeAngelo Kirkland led Columbus with 10 rebounds.

Lander made 30 of 61 shots from the floor (49 percent), 18 of 23 free throws (78 percent) and three of 16 from 3-point range (19 percent).

The Cougars made the same number of field goals, hitting 30 of 63 (48 percent) including 12 of 26 from behind the arc (46 percent). But Columbus hit 10 fewer free throws (eight of 12, 67 percent).

The Cougars had a 36-35 rebounding edge.

Trailing 2-0, Columbus State scored 12 unanswered points to take a 12-2 lead on Jahmad Saleem's basket at the 16:12 mark.

After Dermaine Smith's dunk pulled the Bearcats within 14-8 with 12:44 left, the Cougars used a 14-4 run to build a 28-12 lead with 8:34 to go. Sessions scored nine of the 14 points on a trio of 3s, and Brandon Dawson contributed a dunk.

Lander rallied with nine unanswered points, pulling within 28-21 with 5:50 left on Mike Lee's fast-break layup and 3-pointer, Ricardo Martin's bucket in the paint, and Mario Pendarvis's two free throws.

Columbus scored eight of the game's next 10 points including another Sessions 3 to storm back ahead 36-23 inside the three-minute mark.

But the Bearcats put together another 9-0 run, closing within 36-32 with 1:28 left on Dermaine Smith's put-back of a teammate's missed free throw. Panaggio's 3 pulled Lander within 38-35 with 40 seconds to go.

Heyward's basket with five seconds left gave Columbus a 40-35 halftime lead.

Lander's rally continued into the second half. Dermaine Smith's dunk and Jareal Smith's fast-break layup pulled the hosts within 43-41 at the 18-minute mark. After Kirkland's jumper gave the Cougars a four-point lead, the Bearcats finally pulled even at 45-all with 16:14 left on baskets by Pendarvis and Jareal Smith.

Jareal Smith's jumper gave the Bearcats their first lead since it was 2-0, making it 47-46 with 15:12 left. Washington followed with a 3-pointer and another basket, and Dermaine Smith scored twice off a pair of Panaggio assists, including a dunk, as Lander built a 56-48 advantage with 12 minutes to go.

Dating back to the 28-12 deficit, the Bearcats outscored Columbus 44-20 over a 16-plus minute stretch spanning both halves to turn a 16-point deficit to an eight-point lead.

After Sessions scored five straight points for the Cougars, Lander built its lead back to eight, 61-53 with 9:31 left, on Darius Carrier's two free throws and Dermaine Smith's spectacular three-point play when he put back a teammate's miss.

The Bearcats stretched their lead into double figures at 65-55 with 8:52 left on Dermaine Smith's two free throws.

Then it was Columbus's turn to rally. Sessions continued his one-man assault with a pair of 3-pointers, and Funderburk and Heyward scored inside to pull the Cougars within 69-65 with 6:45 to go.

Dermaine Smith quieted the rally when he tipped in his own miss, expanding Lander's lead to 71-65 with 6:11 left. One minute later, Dermaine Smith grabbed a defensive rebound and passed to a streaking Washington for a layup and eight-point Bearcats lead at 73-65.

Columbus pulled within 73-70 on Heyward's basket and Nick Turner's 3-pointer. But Washington's put-back pushed Lander's lead to 75-70 with 3:14 to go.

Funderburk's mid-range jumper closed the Cougars back within a possession at 75-72 with 2:55 left, and Sessions missed a game-tying 3-point attempt on their next possession.

Carrier's basket increased Lander's advantage to 77-72 with 1:38 to go. But Sessions nailed his eight 3-pointer of the night, pulling Columbus within 77-75 with 1:18 left.

The Bearcats milked the clock and got it down to 50 seconds left when Washington's open 3-point attempt rimmed out. But Lander got the offensive rebound and ran another 30 seconds off the clock when Washington drove the left base-line and was fouled. Washington made one of two free throws for a 78-75 lead with 20.5 seconds to go.

Sessions missed a long 3-point attempt with 11 seconds left and Jareal Smith got the defensive rebound, was immediately fouled and made both free throws for an 80-75 advantage with 10 seconds left.

Heyward's reverse layup pulled Columbus within 80-77 with five seconds to go.

Panaggio hit a free throw with four seconds to go for Lander, and when Sessions made his ninth 3 of the night when he banked it in from several feet behind the arc, it left the Cougars one point short.