ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Lander men's basketball team returned to form Monday evening as it rolled past Claflin University 80-58 with five players reaching double figures in scoring for the Bearcats.
TEAM RECORDS
Lander: 2-4, 0-0 PBC
Claflin: 1-4, 0-0 CIAA
STAT LEADERS
Points: DaJuan Moorer – 16 pts, 6-6 fg | Rebounds: Two Tied (6) | Assists: Jared Sherfield – 7 ast | Steals: Two Tied (2) | Blocks: Two Tied (1)
TEAM STATS TO KNOW
Lander: fg% - 53.8 % (28-52) | 3pt% - 42.9% (9-21) | ft% 78.9% (15-19) | Rebounds – 39 | Turnovers – 13 | Steals – 5
Claflin: fg% - 38.6% (22-57) | 3pt% - 28.6% (6-21) | ft% 57.1 (8-14) | Rebounds – 25 | Turnovers – 9 | Steals - 6
HOW IT HAPPENS
First Half
Lander wasted no time establishing a lead, as Zane Rankin drained three 3-point shots to give the Bearcats a 9-0 lead with 17:40 left in the first half. The Panthers would wake up after the surge from Lander and go on a 13-3 run to take their first lead of the game with 13:30 remaining before DaJuan Moorer dropped in a layup to give the Bearcats the lead back with 13:09 left.
The two sides would be tied at 17 with 9:51 left before Lander went on an 8-0 run that saw points from Nigel Colvin, Tommy Moore, Moorer and Jared Sherfield to go up 25-17 with 8:18 left in the first half. Claflin would cut the Bearcats lead to five on multiple occasions, but the Blue and Gold keep pushing the pace, eventually establishing a 12 point lead they would take into halftime.
Lander's defense shut down the Panthers in the first act, holding Claflin to a shooting percentage of 29 percent from the field.
Second Half
The Bearcats didn't slow down to begin the second frame, with their lead moving to 16 with 16:32 remaining. Dominic Stanford drained a pair of 3-pointers while Colvin hit a jumper and Rankin added another 3-pointer to his tally.
Lander would push its lead to 20+ with 12:46 when Moorer sent home a dunk to make it 54-34. The Bearcats would continue to outscore the Panthers as a 19-7 run for the Bearcats would give them a 32 point lead that featured a pair of 3-point shots from Colvin and three consecutive from Martin Vogts to make it a 73-41 with 6:46 left in the second half.
WHO NEXT
The Bearcats return to Horne Arena as they host the Lander Classic starting December 4. Lander will face Johnson C. Smith on Saturday and Livingstone College on Sunday, December 5. PBC foe Georgia Southwestern will also be taking part in the action.
