GREENWOOD – Jacob Cooper scored 12 consecutive Lander points down the stretch as the Bearcats stayed unbeaten, pulling away from Wingate 87-76 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Cooper led Lander with 19 points, including nine of 10 free throws as the Bearcats improved to 4-0.
The Bulldogs fell to 2-1.
Chandler Lindsey scored 13 points and grabbed three steals for Lander. Noah Dunn added 11 points and also collected three steals for the Bearcats.
Jared Sherfield contributed 11 points for Lander, Navaughn Maise added nine points while leading the Bearcats with six rebounds, and Tommy Moore paced the Blue and Gold with seven assists.
Jarren Cottingham led Wingate with 20 points, Andreas Wilson scored 17 points while Donell Nixon scored 11 points and Josh Massey 10 points.
The Bearcats put together an early 12-3 run, taking a 16-10 lead inside the 15-minute mark. Lindsey made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and added a mid-range jumper and driving layup, Maise hit three of four free throws and Dominic Stanford swished a mid-range shot.
Jaylon Pugh and Dunn hit 3s as Lander's lead grew to 27-16 with 9:40 to go. Wilson's trey pulled the Bulldogs within 31-28 with 5:32 left.
Cottingham's driving layup cut Wingate's deficit to 34-32 at the two-minute mark. Maise's tough layup inside one minute left sent the Bearcats into the locker room with a 39-36 halftime lead.
Wingate took its first lead since early in the game at 43-42. But Lander regained the advantage on Stanford's put-back dunk of a teammate's missed 3-point attempt to make it 44-43 at the 18:24 mark.
The teams went back and forth before Ajang Aguek brought some life back into the Bearcats with three blocked shots on two defensive possessions while adding a tip-in basket. Pugh and Cooper exchanged long passes to each other for layups as Lander's lead grew to five at the nine-minute mark.
Sherfield's steal and dunk extended the Bearcat lead to 64-55 with eight minutes to go. Dunn scored in the paint, Sherfield added another dunk off a turnover, and Cooper converted a three-point play to keep Lander out front.
Massey's basket in the lane pulled Wingate within 73-67 with 4:19 to go.
Cooper's three-point play and basket gave the Bearcats some breathing room. Cooper added seven of eight free throws in the final 2:16.
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