GREENWOOD – DeAngelo Kirkland posted a double-double as Columbus State made nine of its first 11 shots in the second half and pulled away from the Lander Bearcats 80-65 in a Peach Belt Conference showdown Tuesday night at Horne Arena.

The Cougars won their seventh straight, improving to 14-2 overall. They lead the PBC's West Division at 8-1.

Columbus State shot 72 percent in the second half, making 16 of 22 shots after the intermission.

Lander lost its fourth straight after opening the season with 13 consecutive wins. The Bearcats are 13-4 overall and 5-4 in the Peach Belt.

As hot as Columbus was to start the second half, Lander was just as cold, missing 14 of its first 16 shots after the break. The Bearcats made only 10 of 34 shots in the second half.

Kirkland made seven of 10 shots from the floor and nine of 12 free throws, scoring a game-high 23 points. He also grabbed 16 rebounds, including 13 on the defensive end.

Brent Jackson added 13 points for the Cougars while Shane Heyward made six of seven shots including three dunks for 12 points. B.J. Battle added 11 points, Heyward contributed eight rebounds, and Ty Harris and Kirkland led Columbus State with four assists apiece.

JR Washington led Lander with 21 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. Tobiasz Hose added 14 points including an almost half-court shot at the first half buzzer and paced the Bearcats with eight rebounds.

Lander made 23 of 72 shots from the floor (32 percent), 14 of 24 free throws (58 percent) and only five of 26 from 3-point range (19 percent).

The Cougars hit 31 of 51 shots (61 percent), 14 of 20 free throws (70 percent) and four of 11 from behind the arc (36 percent) while holding a huge 50-30 rebounding edge including 42 defensive boards.

The Bearcats committed only four turnovers the entire game while forcing 18, and had 21 more shots than Columbus.

Lander was swept in a Peach Belt double-header for the first time this season.

The game was tied at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9. Lander took a pair of five-point leads at 14-9 and 16-11 on Washington's 3 and Scott Elder's basket in the paint off a pass from Randy Colter.

Kirkland made a pair of free throws to give the Cougars a 17-16 advantage with 10:29 to go and Jackson's layup increased Columbus's lead to 25-20 with 6:35 left.

But Hose's long 3 and Ricardo Martin's jumper in the paint produced the seventh tie of the game, making it 25-all with 5:30 to go.

Shevren Keaton's layup gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the first half at 34-28 with 53 seconds left.

But Lander ended the half with a 7-0 flourish, highlighted by Hose's nearly half-court shot at the buzzer. Washington hit a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left, then teammate Sergio Smith drew an offensive foul with just two seconds to go against Kirkland, who was also whistled for a technical.

Washington took advantage by making two free throws and the Bearcats were rewarded possession at the opposite end due to the technical. Lander threw the ball inbounds to Hose, who dribbled about four feet across midcourt on the edge of the Bearcat logo and swished a 3, touching nothing but net for a 35-34 halftime lead.

After missing their opening shot of the second half, the Cougars made their next seven including a pair of 3s by Battle that helped them open up a 50-41 advantage at the 13:38 mark, their biggest lead of the game.

Kenney Funderburk's 3 and Kirkland's layup increased the advantage to 55-41 with 12:19 left. The lead grew to 15 when Kirkland made one of two free throws.

Smith's jumper at the eight-minute mark was just Lander's third field goal of the second half and the Bearcats still trailed 58-45.

Kirkland's dunk and layup on consecutive possessions gave Columbus its largest lead of the game at 19 points, 64-45, with 5:32 left.

After Washington scored the fourth Bearcats basket of the second half with 5:13 to go, Heyward's dunk upped the visitor advantage back to 19, 66-47, with 4:49 left.

Washington had a 3-pointer, a layup and three-point play, and Marco Morales also had a 3 as Lander started to heat up some and pulled within 74-62 with 1:40 to go.

The Bearcats twice got within 11 as Kiair Crouch hit one of two free throws with 1:05 left and Washington made a layup off a Morales steal with 35 seconds to go.