GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats outscored Francis Marion 27-6 over the final nine minutes of the first half, pulling away from the Patriots 80-67 in Peach Belt Conference action Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 7-12 overall and 4-6 in the PBC. Francis Marion fell to 7-12, 3-8.

The Bearcats had six double-figure scorers, led by JR Washington with 14 points. The senior also paced Lander with five assists and has scored in double figures in each of his last 55 games.

Jarryd Coleman added 12 points for the Bearcats, making four 3-pointers. Rahu Purdie scored 10 points while leading Lander with eight rebounds, all on the defensive end.

Clenzo Ross, Nicklas Jonsson and Telvin Gabriel also scored 10 points apiece for the Bearcats while TJ Knight added nine points.

Detrek Browning of Francis Marion led all scorers with 20 points. Judah Alexander added 13 points while leading the Patriots with seven rebounds. Kenneth Jackson contributed 10 points while Brandon Parker paced the visitors with four assists.

Josh Council hit a 3, matching Francis Marion's biggest lead of the game at six points, 23-17, with 9:11 left. But the Bearcats would end the first half by outscoring the Patriots 27-6, starting with a 19-2 run.

Washington's fade-away jumper from the free-throw line, Coleman's 3 from the left corner, Washington's reverse lay-in high off the glass, and Gabriel's turnaround jumper gave Lander nine unanswered points and a 26-23 lead at the six-minute mark.

After the Patriots scored to break the streak, Lander responded with 10 more unanswered points to complete the 19-2 run. Knight made a turnaround baseline jumper, then Jonsson hit a 3 from the left corner and another from the top of the key while adding a driving layup for a 36-25 advantage at the 2:19 mark.

Gabriel scored on a put-back and Washington swished a 3 from the left corner, extending the lead to 41-27. The Bearcats were up 44-29 at halftime.

Coleman's third 3 of the game upped Lander's lead to 49-33 with 17:15 to go. Coleman got open in front of the Bearcats bench for his fourth 3, making it 54-37 with 15:20 left.

Srdjan Ivic collected a steal and passed to Ross for a layup, increasing Lander's advantage to 60-41 at the 13-minute mark.

Purdie's 3 from the left corner gave the Bearcats a 71-51 lead with 7:20 left.

Gabriel's layup handed Lander its biggest lead of the game at 76-53 with 4:49 to go.

But Francis Marion made things interesting by scoring 14 unanswered points, with Alexander making a pair of layups and Browning hitting a 3 in a span of just 15 seconds to make it 76-67 with 1:07 left.

But Ross made a pair of free throws and completed the scoring with a dunk in the final seconds.