GREENWOOD, S.C. – Nigel Colvin scored 15 points as the Lander Bearcats overcame a poor start, outscoring North Georgia 28-12 over the final 14-plus minutes for a 63-56 Peach Belt Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Lander broke a five-game losing streak, improving to 10-13 overall and 5-9 in the PBC.
The Nighthawks fell to 13-10, 6-8.
The Bearcats rallied in each half to pull off the victory. They trailed 23-5 but used a 26-6 run to take a lead late in the first half. And Lander trailed by nine early in the second half before closing the game strong.
DaJuan Moorer added 13 points for the Bearcats while sharing a team high with four assists before fouling out.
Deandre Robinson hit four 3-pointers during key stretches and finished with 12 points for Lander.
Jared Sherfield added 10 points while pacing the Bearcats with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Frank Champion of North Georgia led all scorers with 28 points. Eric Jones had nine points while leading the Nighthawks with seven rebounds.
North Georgia made its first seven shots from the floor while the Bearcats missed their first five. The scoreboard reflected that as the Nighthawks had leads of 10-0 and 14-1.
Tommy Moore drove the baseline and made a layup for Lander's first basket at the 16:31 mark, making it 14-3.
Champion's dunk upped North Georgia's advantage to 19-3 inside 12 minutes to go while Zach Brown's dunk made it 23-5 at 11:20.
Moorer and Robinson fueled a 12-0 run for the Bearcats with six points apiece as they began to claw back into the game. Moorer made a driving layup, two free throws and a mid-range jumper while Robinson nailed a pair of 3-pointers as Lander was within 23-17 with 8:10 left.
Kody Shubert's 3-pointer for North Georgia ended the run. But the Bearcats responded with another big run, outscoring the visitors 14-3 over the next six minutes. Colvin and Sherfield scored six points apiece with Sherfield's three-point play giving Lander its first lead of the game at 28-27 with 2:48 left.
The Bearcats led 31-29 in the final minute of the half, riding a 26-6 run. Blake McIntyre's 3-pointer with three seconds left gave North Georgia a 32-31 halftime lead.
Lander drew first blood in the second half when Dominic Stanford made a driving layup. But North Georgia went on a 12-2 run, taking a 44-35 lead with 14:42 to go.
The Bearcats scored 13 of the game's next 15 points, taking a 48-46 advantage on Robinson's 3-pointer just inside the 11-minute mark. Zane Rankin had two 3-pointers during the run while Colvin made an off-balance shot in the lane and Robinson added a long jumper.
Lander went nearly five minutes without scoring before Moorer made one of two free throws as the Blue and Gold trailed 53-50 with six minutes left.
Moorer's offensive rebound put-back with 4:38 left was Lander's first field goal in more than six minutes while Sherfield's lay-in gave the Bearcats a 54-53 lead with 3:55 to go.
Colvin drove through the lane for a basket, was fouled and converted the three-point play to put the Bearcats on top 57-53 with 2:48 left.
Champion's three-point play pulled the visitors within 57-56 with 1:09 to go.
Colvin's driving layup increased Lander's lead to 59-56 with 47 seconds left. Sherfield and Colvin added two free throws apiece to clinch the win.
#cLawsUp | @LanderMBB
