GREENWOOD - The Lander men's basketball team was due a victory in a close game and that finally happened Saturday afternoon when the Bearcats outlasted Peach Belt Conference rival USC Aiken 77-70 behind DaJuan Moorer's double-double.

The victory in Lander's final home game of the season improved its record to 7-9 overall, 5-7 in the Peach Belt.

The team's final game of the season will be Monday at Flagler in St. Augustine, Fla.

The Pacers fell to 9-7 overall, 8-6 in the PBC.

It was the fourth time that the rivals met this season, with each team going 2-2 including 1-1 in conference games.

The Bearcats were coming off of a trio of heart-breaking home losses last week. Two of them went into overtime, with the most recent loss to Augusta going into double overtime. A loss to No. 18-ranked Flagler came after Lander had a 16-point lead with four minutes to go only to see the game get tied on a 3-pointer at the end of regulation buzzer.

This time, the Bearcats came out on top as Deon Berrien hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:23 left, Moorer collected a dunk with 47 seconds to go, and the team added four free throws in the final few seconds.

Moorer paced Lander with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. The senior forward made nine of 16 shots from the floor and grabbed nine defensive boards.

Zane Rankin hit four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points for the Bearcats.

Berrien added 11 points while leading Lander with eight assists. Berrien had hit a couple game-tying shots in the double overtime loss to Augusta last Saturday. But this time his 3-pointer proved to be a game-winner.

Jared Sherfield contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, including a key dime to Moorer in the final minute.

Gus Rowland paced Aiken with 20 points, Tyler Johnson added 17 points including five of six 3-pointers, and Anyeuri Castillo had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Aiken missed eight of its first nine shots of the game as Lander led 8-3 with 13:27 left in the opening half on LaRaymond Spivery's layup. The Pacers scored eight unanswered points, hitting a pair of 3s and adding Rowland's steal and layup for an 11-8 advantage with 12:27 to go.

Rankin's long-range 3 after Moorer blocked a shot put the Bearcats back in front, 13-11, with 11:05 left and Moorer hit one of two free throws to break a 13-all tie. It would be Lander's final lead of the first half.

Damontez Oliver's 3 gave Aiken a 26-20 advantage with 5:49 to go and the visitors maintained their lead into halftime at 32-28.

The Bearcats opened the second half with 10 unanswered points, regaining the lead at 38-32. Rankin hit a 3 from the left side, Sherfield made a driving layup, Moorer converted a three-point play with a turnaround jumper off the glass, and Sherfield swished a pair of free throws.

The Pacers scored the game's next seven points to regain the lead. But Rankin found his stroke behind the 3-point arc again, hitting two straight as Lander led 48-44 with 13:24 left.

Rowland's three-point play gave Aiken a 53-50 advantage just inside the nine-minute mark. Spivery's 3 from the left corner put Lander on top 59-57 with 6:35 to go.

The back-and-forth pace of the game continued as the Pacers led 62-59 at the six-minute mark on Tehree Horn's layup.

After Castillo's 3 gave Aiken a 65-61 advantage, MJ Armstrong's first 3-pointer of the season cut the Blue and Gold deficit to 65-64 just inside four minutes to go.

The Bearcats took a 66-65 lead with 3:25 left on Sherfield's back-court steal and layup.

Moorer's layup tied the game at 68 for Lander and the hosts took a 71-70 lead on Berrien's 3-pointer with 1:22 to go.

After an Aiken turnover, Sherfield found Moorer inside for a crucial basket. Moorer went up aggressively for a dunk which bounced off the rim and dropped in for a 73-70 lead with 47 seconds left.

After Castillo missed a 3-point attempt for the Pacers with 13 seconds to go, Moorer and Berrien each hit a pair of free throws to clinch the Lander victory.

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