GREENWOOD – Kiair Crouch scored 19 points and Tobiasz Hose added a double-double, leading the Lander Bearcats to a 77-66 victory over Peach Belt Conference rival USC Aiken during Homecoming Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 16-6 overall and 8-6 in the PBC. The Pacers fell to 10-13, 5-9.

Hose added 18 points while leading Lander with 13 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. It was Hose's second consecutive double-double.

Ricardo Martin added 12 points for the Bearcats while Scott Elder and Sergio Smith added 10 points apiece. Smith made all five of his shots from the floor and added two blocked shots. JR Washington added nine rebounds while Martin grabbed eight boards.

Arbry Butler paced Aiken with 21 points, making eight of 12 shots from the floor. Dominic Early added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Anthony added 10 points.

Lander out-rebounded the Pacers 46-37, including 20 offensive boards.

The Bearcats made 28 of 67 shots from the floor (42 percent), 15 of 28 free throws (54 percent) and six of 17 from 3-point range (35 percent).

Aiken made 23 of 56 shots (41 percent), 17 of 27 free throws (63 percent) and three of 20 from behind the arc (15 percent).

Lander built an early lead of 8-4, including three baskets by Elder. Anthony made a 3 and added two free throws to give Aiken a 10-8 advantage with 15:26 to go, and the Pacers held the lead for the next five minutes.

The Bearcats regained the lead at 20-19 with 9:13 left on Mike Lee's 3. There were several lead changes in the next few minutes with Crouch's 3 off Hose's cross-court pass being the sixth lead change, putting Lander back on top 28-27 with 3:46 to go. Smith's hustle play saving the ball from going out of bounds led to Crouch's go-ahead shot.

Anthony's jumper with 17 seconds left put the Pacers back ahead 33-32. But Hose's 3 at the buzzer – the 12th lead change of the first half – gave Lander a 35-33 lead at the intermission.

Elder and Crouch scored in the first three minutes of the second half, giving the Bearcats their biggest lead of the game to that point at 39-33. Elder's basket came on a sequence in which Lander missed four shots but got four offensive rebounds.

Martin's free throw upped the advantage to 42-34 at the 15-minute mark.

The Pacers pulled within five points five times, including David Belfield's bucket to make it 48-43 with 11:28 to go.

Hose hit 3s on consecutive possessions and Washington converted a steal into a layup, giving Lander a 56-45 advantage with 10:18 left.

The Bearcats maintained their 11-point lead on consecutive baskets by Smith, including a dunk, to make it 60-49 with 8:43 to go.

But Butler converted two three-point plays and added another basket, and Early also had a three-point play as Aiken closed within 63-60 with 5:44 left.

Hose made two free throws and Crouch added one, increasing Lander's lead to 66-60 with 5:12 left. Hose's dunk upped the advantage to eight with 3:45 to go.

Rashad Lewis's basket with 1:52 left was Aiken's first in almost four minutes as the Pacers were within 68-62. But Elder's dunk and Crouch's fast-break layup off Hose's steal gave the Bearcats a 72-62 advantage with 1:21 to go.