GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats are off to their best start in school history, battling back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to outlast Peach Belt Conference rival Georgia Southwestern 61-54 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena. Kiair Crouch and JR Washington combined for 23 points in the second half and Sergio Smith hit the go-ahead shot as Lander improved to 10-0.

Lander started 9-0 in 1979-80. But these Bearcats now stand alone with the best start in program history.

Lander is 10-0 overall and 3-0 in the PBC. The Hurricanes fell to 5-4, 0-2.

The Bearcats were outscored 33-3 from 3-point territory Saturday. But they outscored Georgia Southwestern 20-3 from the free-throw line.

Crouch paced Lander with 13 of his 18 points in the second half, hitting 10 of 11 free throws. Washington scored 10 of his 14 points in the last seven minutes, including four of four free throws in the final 20 seconds.

Tobiasz Hose added 11 points for the Bearcats. Hose, Washington and Ricardo Martin led Lander with five rebounds apiece, Washington paced the Bearcats with three assists while Crouch led them with three steals.

Georgia Southwestern had a big shooting night from behind the arc, making six in a row at one point in the first half. Damien Leonard made five 3s and led the Hurricanes with 19 points. Deric Rudolph had four 3s and 17 points. Kevin Burnell added 10 points for Georgia Southwestern.

Leonard led the Hurricanes with 10 rebounds while Darius Redding paced them with six assists.

Lander made 20 of 57 shots from the floor (35 percent), 20 of 25 free throws (80 percent), and only one of eight from 3-point range (13 percent).

Georgia Southwestern hit 20 of 44 shots (46 percent), three of nine free throws (33 percent) and 11 of 21 from behind the arc (53 percent) while out-rebounding the Bearcats 35-32.

Lander forced 25 turnovers but committed only nine.

Both teams started very slowly with neither side reaching double-digit points until Rudolph's 3 gave Georgia Southwestern a 10-8 lead with 9:54 left in the first half.

Leonard hit a pair of 3s, Rudolph made another shot from behind the arc, Burnell drove inside for an uncontested layup, and Burnell made a 3 to give the Hurricanes a 24-14 advantage at the six-minute mark.

Burnell hit another 3, increasing Georgia Southwestern's lead to 27-14 with 3:59 to go. Lander was 6-for-23 from the floor (26 percent) up to this point. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes were 7-for-10 from 3-point range.

The Bearcats gained a little ground in the last few minutes of the first half. Georgia Southwestern, after making six consecutive 3s, finally missed two in a row. Smith scored, Crouch made three of four free throws, and Washington scored inside as Lander was within 29-21 at halftime.

Leonard's open 3 from the left side gave the Hurricanes a 36-24 lead with 18:12 to go.

The Bearcats took advantage of Georgia Southwestern's four-minute scoring drought, cutting a 12-point deficit to five. Crouch made a layup, Martin hit two free throws, and Crouch made a runner, was fouled, and completed the three-point play to make it 36-31 with 15:49 left.

The Hurricanes stretched their lead back to 10, 41-31, with 13:44 to go on Leonard's fifth 3 of the game and a Carlton Gaethers layup.

Martin converted a three-point play and Crouch made a pair of free throws to pull Lander back within five, 41-36.

Rudolph's 3 pushed Georgia Southwestern's lead to 44-36. But Hose answered with a 3, and Crouch's steal and driving basket closed the Bearcats within 44-41 with 9:30 to go.

Rudolph's fourth 3 of the game increased the Hurricane advantage to 47-41 with 9:10 left. But Hose scored, then blocked a shot that led to a Crouch jumper from the free-throw line to pull Lander within 47-45 with 8:08 left.

Washington made a spin move down the lane and hit a layup to tie the game at 47 with 6:56 to go. Washington hit two free throws, giving the Bearcats their first lead since early in the first half at 49-47 with 6:10 left to complete an 8-0 run.

Rudolph made three of four free throws as Georgia Southwestern regained a 50-49 lead inside the five-minute mark.

But Smith's jumper put Lander back on top with 4:39 left, and Washington made a back-court steal and converted it into points when he drove past a defender for a layup and a 53-50 advantage with 3:32 to go.

Crouch's two free throws gave the Bearcats a 55-50 lead with 3:05 left.

Leonard's driving layup pulled the Hurricanes within 55-52 with 2:33 to go and after Rudolph blocked a Lander shot, Georgia Southwestern missed a layup that would have made the game closer.

The Bearcats ran time off the clock and missed a shot but got the rebound and a fresh clock. Lander missed another shot with under a minute to go, but Hose stole the inbounds pass. Hose missed the layup, but Martin tapped in the rebound for a 57-52 advantage with 48 seconds to go.

Burnell's layup pulled Georgia Southwestern within 57-54 with 33 seconds left. Lander's Crouch went to the floor against a double team but got the ball out to Washington, who drove up the floor, was fouled, and hit two free throws for a 59-54 advantage with 20 seconds left.

After a Hurricanes turnover, Washington made two more free throws with 13 seconds to go for the game's final points as the Bearcats matched the Lander women with a 10th consecutive win.