GREENWOOD – Noah Dunn, Jaylon Pugh, Chandler Lindsey and Jared Sherfield combined for 15 3-pointers as the Lander Bearcats cruised past rival Erskine 96-52 Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 3-0 while the Flying Fleet dropped to 0-3.
The Blue and Gold has totaled 200 points over its last two games including Saturday's 104-78 victory over Southern Wesleyan.
The Bearcats made 19 of 36 attempts from behind the 3-point arc (53 percent) while adding four dunks.
Sherfield led all scorers with 17 points on seven of eight shooting from the floor, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc and also led Lander with seven rebounds.
Dunn made four treys and finished with 16 points for the Bearcats. Pugh was 4-for-4 from behind the arc for 12 points while Lindsey was 4-for-7 from deep, also scoring 12.
Akang Aguek also scored 12 points for Lander while Jacob Cooper led the team with 11 assists.
Aisaiah Phillips paced Erskine with 14 points and six rebounds. Jaylen Prioleau added 10 points for the Flying Fleet. Lanyc Shuler added eight points and three assists while Tavis Bridges also scored eight for Erskine.
Lander out-rebounded the Flying Fleet 46-30 and totaled 30 assists.
The Bearcats answered a 4-0 deficit with a pair of 3-pointers apiece by Lindsey and Deandre Robinson for a 12-4 advantage with 16 minutes left in the opening half. It was a sign for things to come.
Phillips made a 3 to pull Erskine within 13-12 at the 11:13 mark. But Aguek made a layup for Lander's first points inside the arc and then the Bearcats went back outside as Dunn hit one 3 and then Pugh swished four 3s in a row making it 32-18 with 8:36 to go.
Sherfield made Lander's 10th 3-pointer, Cooper scored off a turnover, and Aguek converted a three-point play for a 40-18 advantage with 7:22 left.
Sherfield's finger roll layup ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought from the floor as the Bearcats led 43-25 with 2:42 to go.
Sherfield kept going, hitting a 3 from the right wing and then driving through an opening to the basket for a slam dunk. Cooper made a step back 3 from the top of the key at the buzzer, giving Lander a 51-26 lead at the break.
Dunn opened the second half with a mid-range jumper, Aguek dropped in a hook shot, and Dunn hit a pair of 3s as the Blue and Gold's lead grew to 61-28 with 16:27 to go.
Lindsey hit two 3s, Sherfield added another trey and then Sherfield made an athletic up-and-under layup as the Bearcat advantage extended to 74-32 with 11:24 left.
Aguek became the seventh Lander player to knock down a 3-pointer and then jumped high for an alley-oop pass from Tommy Moore for a two-handed dunk, making it 81-35 inside the 10-minute mark.
Dunn made the Blue and Gold's 19th and final trey, upping the lead to 84-35 with 6:34 to go.
Sherfield's dunk off Nigel Colvin's back-door pass increased the lead to 90-45 with three minutes left.
Samuel Perry stole the ball and drove in for a dunk, and Colvin and Sebastian Augustave added layups to finish the scoring.
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