GREENWOOD – After a tough overtime loss to USC Aiken on Wednesday, the Lander men's basketball team hits the road on Saturday to face North Georgia.

QUICK HITTERS

Location: North Georgia Convocation Center (Dahlonega, Ga.)

Time: 3:30 pm

Lander's Record: 6-5, 1-1 PBC

North Georgia's Record: 8-4, 1-2 PBC

First Met: Nov. 21, 1974 (102-88 NGU)

Last Met: Feb. 15, 2020 (85-77 NGU)

Last Five Against NGU: 3-2

Who's Next: vs No. 12/15 Augusta (Jan. 12)

STORYLINES

• The Bearcats lost by just one point to the USC Aiken Pacers on Wednesday 74-73.
• Zane Rankin led the Bearcats in scoring with 15 points. In total, five Bearcats finished in double figures in scoring.
• DaJuan Moorer also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and one steal.
• The Bearcats have had four or more players record double figures in scoring in seven games this season.
• Rankin has led the Bearcats in scoring twice this season. Lander had had six players lead them in scoring this season. Nigel Colvin leads that group with three games as the leading scorer. Rankin is tied with Dominic Stanford and Moorer with two games as the Bearcats leading scorer.
• In its five losses, Lander has not dropped a game by more than five points. The Bearcats have fallen by five points three times, by three points one time and most recently by one point.
• In its six wins, Lander has prevailed by 10 or more points every time.
• The Bearcats will look to start a new winning streak after seeing their run of five straight wins snapped by Aiken.
• Colvin leads the Bearcats in scoring with 11.4 points per game. He's currently shooting .459 from the field and .471 from beyond the arc. Colvin is also leading the Bearcats in 3pt shooting percentage, with Jared Sheffield second with a .444 rate.
• Sherfield is also leading the Bearcats in total rebounds and rebounds per game with 68 total and 6.2 per game.
• The Bearcats continue to be a thorn in the side of their opponents. Lander currently has the 24th best FG defense and 36th scoring defense in the country.
• This will be the first time since 2020 that Lander and North Georgia will face each other. The two teams split the season series in 2020, with each side winning on its respective home court.
• The Nighthawks are 8-4 overall this season and 1-2 in PBC competition. They most recently defeated Georgia Southwestern 72-60 at the NGU Convocation Center on January 5 to stop a three-game losing skid that featured losses to Georgia College and Flagler.
• The PBC currently had three teams ranked in the top-25 in the NABC poll. Augusta is ranked 12th, Georgia College is ranked 21st and Flagler is 25th.
• The Nighthawks are currently last in the PBC in scoring offense with just 70.3 points scored per game. Lander is currently third from the bottom with just 72.5 points per game scored.
• Both teams rank in the top three for scoring defense in the PBC however. North Georgia is second with just 63.7 points per game allowed and Lander is third with 65.0 points per game allowed.
• Frank Champion is currently fourth in the PBC with 16.8 points per game. Champion is also leading the PBC in rebounds per game with 8.8.
• Champion leads the Nighthawks in points per game, rebounds and is second blocks per game with 0.8.
• Kody Shubert leads North Georiga in assists with 4.3 per game while Greg Billups, Jr. leads the team in steals per game (2.0) along with blocks per game.
• The Bearcats return to Horne Arena for its next game as it takes on No. 12/15 Augusta on January 12.

#cLawsUp | @LanderMBB