GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats used a 35-8 run bridging two halves to build a big lead on their way to an 81-61 victory over Winston-Salem State Wednesday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Lander turned an 11-7 deficit into a 44-22 lead early in the second half. The Bearcats improved to 3-1 on the season.
The Rams had their four-game winning streak snapped, falling to 4-2. They are the defending Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) champions.
Inady Legiste paced Lander with 18 points and seven rebounds, making eight of 14 shots from the floor.
Torrin Andrews added 14 points for the Bearcats, hitting three of four from behind the 3-point arc. Dominic Stanford contributed 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting for the Blue and Gold.
Phillip Burwell added 10 points for Lander, shared team-high honors with seven boards while adding five assists and two steals. Tommy Moore contributed nine points and three assists for the Bearcats.
Ketron Shaw led Winston-Salem State with 12 points and seven rebounds. Jahnarious Snell added 11 points.
The Bearcats had a huge advantage in shooting percentage, making 30 of 60 shots from the floor (50 percent) to 21 of 69 for the visitors (30 percent).
Winston-Salem State had a 42-38 edge on the boards, including 19 offensive rebounds.
The first eight shots of the game were missed as the Rams held a 2-0 lead on a pair of free throws.
Lander made the first field goal with 16:23 left in the opening half when Burwell collected a steal and found Legiste inside for layup, resulting in a three-point play.
Neither team reached double figures until Jaylen Alston's two free throws gave Winston-Salem State an 11-7 lead at the 12-minute mark.
The Bearcats scored 13 unanswered points to turn a 14-9 deficit into a 22-14 lead. Noah Dunn hit a 3-pointer, Ajang Aguek made a put-back, Stanford swished a trey, Aguek scored inside off a feed from Dunn, and Legiste added a 3-pointer for the eight-point advantage with 5:35 to go. Lander was 5-for-7 shooting during the run while the Rams were 0-for-7.
After Winston-Salem State broke its scoreless run with a 3-pointer, the Bearcats scored three baskets for a 28-17 advantage. Stanford made a long pull-up jumper, Moore hit a runner, and Legiste converted a fade-away jumper.
Lander added five points in the final minute to build a 35-20 lead at the break. Andrews made a 3-pointer from the left corner and Stanford converted his steal into a finger-roll layup.
The Bearcats doubled their lead early in the second half as Stanford, Moore and Legiste each hit 3-pointers making it 44-22 with 17:50 to go, completing the 35-8 run.
Moore turned a spin move in the lane into a layup and Legiste swished a turn-around jumper as the Blue and Gold's lead grew to 50-28 inside the 16-minute mark. The Bearcats were in the midst of a 9-for-10 shooting run since the final minute of the first half.
Snell's layup pulled Winston-Salem State within 52-37. But Andrews responded with a 3-pointer, was fouled, and completed a four-point play giving Lander a 56-37 advantage at the 13-minute mark.
The Rams went on a 9-1 run, pulling within 56-46 with 10:19 left on Shaw's trey from the left corner.
Nigel Colvin's 3-pointer and Burwell's two driving layups extended the Bearcat lead to 17 at 65-48 with eight minutes to go.
It was almost three minutes before either team scored again. Andrews made a pair of technical free throws and Dunn added a tech free throw for a 20-point Lander lead at 68-48 with 5:29 left.
Burwell added a pair of baskets and Jaylen Dibble scored the first four points of his collegiate career in the final minute for the Bearcats.
