GREENWOOD – Lander newcomers Tobiasz Hose and Shavanno Cooper made several key plays down the stretch as the Bearcats rallied past Queens 71-67 Saturday evening in the final game of the Bearcat Classic at Horne Arena.

Lander trailed almost the entire game and was down by four points with two minutes left. Hose made four of four free throws and had a key assist in the final two minutes, while Cooper added a basket, caused a turnover, and added a big defensive rebound and free throw to clinch the victory.

Lander improved to 2-0 while Queens fell to 0-2.

Hose led the Bearcats with 14 points, Cooper added 13 points, Kiair Crouch scored 12, Mike Lee added 10, and JR Washington had all eight of his points in the second half including a pair of go-ahead 3-pointers. Ricardo Martin led Lander with seven rebounds while Alen Hardy paced the team with four assists.

Sean Morgan led the Royals with a double-double, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds. Marquis Rankin scored 16 points, and Rob Lewis added 14 points and five assists.

The Bearcats made 22 of 50 shots from the floor (44 percent), only 21 of 39 free throws (54 percent) and six of 17 from 3-point range (35 percent).

Queens was 26 of 47 from the floor (55 percent), hit 11 of 16 free throws (69 percent) and made four of 13 from behind the arc (31 percent).

The Royals had a 33-27 edge on the boards.

Trailing 53-47 with just under 10 minutes left in the game, the Bearcats scored nine unanswered points to take their first lead of the afternoon.

Hose scored, then Martin made a jumper and was fouled but missed the free throw. However, Cooper grabbed the offensive rebound and re-set the offense. Washington then hit a go-ahead 3, giving Lander a 54-53 lead with 9:05 to go. After an offensive foul by the Royals, Cooper made a layup off a nice assist from Washington to complete the 9-0 run.

The Bearcats regained the lead, 59-57, with 7:03 left on Washington's second 3.

The game was tied at 59, 61 and 63 going under the four-minute mark. Then Queens regained the lead on a pair of Lewis free throws, making it 65-63 with 3:56 to go.

Rankin's driving layoff off a long defensive rebound gave the Royals a 67-63 lead with 2:58 left.

Hose drove the baseline and was fouled, hitting both free throws to pull Lander within 67-65 with 1:55 to go. Queens turned the ball over just a few seconds later, and the Bearcats took advantage, tying it at 67-all with 1:15 left when Cooper made a layup off a nice assist from Hose.

As the Royals worked the ball around, Cooper swatted a Queens pass away to a streaking Crouch who drove quickly to the basket, drew a foul, and made one of two free throws giving Lander a 68-67 lead with 48 seconds left.

Lewis missed a jumper for the Royals and Lander came away with the defensive rebound. The Bearcats took several seconds off the clock before Rankin fouled Hose near the sideline with 15.6 seconds left. Hose hit both free throws for a 70-67 advantage.

Morgan took an off-balance 3 attempt that bounced off the side of the rim into Cooper's hands with 1.5 seconds left. Cooper made one of two free throws to clinch the 71-67 victory.

After Martin made one of two free throws to pull the Bearcats within 6-5 at the 16-minute mark, Queens scored the game's next 10 points to build a 16-5 lead. Jedarian Jackson scored, Rankin banked in a 3, Lewis made a 3, and Rankin hit two free throws for an 11-point lead at the 13:18 mark.

Rankin hit another 3, giving Queens a 25-13 advantage with 9:33 left in the opening half. But Lander scored eight unanswered points to pull within 25-21 on Cooper's 3, Hose's two free throws, and Crouch's 3.

The Royals regained their 12-point lead when Tate Small's layup made it 36-24 at the four-minute mark.

But the Bearcats closed the half with a 9-2 run, pulling within 38-33 at the break. Six of those points were scored by Lee, who hit one of two free throws, made a driving layup, and knocked down a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

Lander's defense provided a spark early in the second half with Hardy's steal leading to Lee's breakaway dunk, and Washington's steal resulting in Hardy's basket to pull the Bearcats within 40-37 with 18:28 left.

Rankin's basket in the paint gave Queens a 47-39 lead at the 15-minute mark. But Lander got back within three, 47-44, with 12:22 left on Crouch's 3 and a pair of Cooper free throws.