GREENWOOD – Lander freshman Jacob Cooper scored a career-high 24 points, but USC Aiken used a 21-3 run in the first half and cruised to an 83-70 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Bearcats Wednesday night at Horne Arena.

The Pacers turned an 11-7 deficit into a 28-14 lead with the game-changing 21-3 run.

Lander fell to 9-3 overall, 0-2 in the Peach Belt. The Pacers improved to 10-3, 3-0 PBC.

Cooper scored 12 points in the last two-plus minutes of the game, finishing 9-for-12 from the floor.

Navaughn Maise added 13 points for the Bearcats while Chandler Lindsey scored 12 points while leading the Blue and Gold with four assists. Akang Aguek paced Lander with eight rebounds.

USC Aiken's Tehree Horn led all scorers with 26 points, Tyler Johnson scored 17 points while Jalen McCoy and Daniel Parrish added 10 points apiece.

Aguek made a spin move inside and laid the ball off the glass, giving Lander an 11-7 advantage with 15:22 left in the opening half. But USC Aiken went on an 8-0 run, taking a 15-11 lead at the 12-minute mark on a Parrish 3-pointer.

The Pacers would not trail again.

The score remained 15-11 for two-plus minutes before Maise ended a nearly six-minute Bearcat scoring drought with a 3-pointer from the right wing, pulling the hosts within 15-14 with 9:42 to go.

But Lander went on yet another nearly six-minute scoring drought while giving up 13 consecutive points. Johnson hit a pair of 3-pointers while Horn ended the run with a floater in the lane, giving the Pacers a 28-14 lead with 5:22 left.

Tommy Moore made a tough driving layup with 3:42 left to end the 13-0 run. It was only the second Bearcat made basket in their last 15 attempts.

Noah Dunn's layup cut Lander's deficit to 32-21 with 1:32 to go. But USC Aiken closed the half with a pair of buckets for a 36-21 lead at the break.

Maise converted a layup through contact while Lindsey made a put-back as the Bearcats trailed 40-29 with 15:16 to go.

The Pacers built their lead back up to 15 yet again. Lindsey's 3-pointer from the left wing sliced Lander's deficit to 51-39 with 10:33 left. But the Bearcats still couldn't cut the deficit to single digits.

Horn's layup gave USC Aiken a 60-43 advantage at the eight-minute mark and his 3-pointer made it 65-46 with 6:35 to go.

Nigel Colvin's basket pulled Lander within 66-52 with 4:37 left.

Down 19 with less than three minutes to go, the Bearcats made up some ground. Two Lindsey back-court steals led to baskets while Cooper nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 12, 75-63, with 1:12 left.

Cooper added two more baskets and a 3-pointer in the final 35 seconds.

Keep up to date with your Bearcats and never miss a moment of the action! Follow Lander athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for continued updates! #cLawsUp