GREENWOOD – Dominic Stanford scored 20 points as the Lander Bearcats beat nonconference opponent Carson-Newman 81-72 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Lander won its fourth consecutive game, improving to 4-1 on the season. The Eagles fell to 3-1.

Stanford made eight of 10 shots from the floor while also leading the Bearcats with eight rebounds.

Torrin Andrews scored 16 points for Lander while Noah Dunn added 11 points while leading the team with six assists.

Ajang Aguek contributed 11 points for the Bearcats. Aguek and Inady Legiste each blocked three shots for Lander.

Trey Hubbard paced Carson-Newman with 20 points while Nick Brenegan added 12 points.

Lander used a 10-2 run to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 17-12 lead. Dunn made a 3-pointer and then drove into the paint for a bucket, Stanford made a layup, and Phillip Burwell sank a hook shot for the five-point lead inside the nine-minute mark.

Carson-Newman's Ben Beeker made a layup to tie the game at 19. But Dunn found Nigel Colvin on a back-door cut for a layup and added a 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Bearcats a 24-19 lead.

Colvin's long jumper with five seconds left gave Lander a 32-24 lead at halftime.

Andrews hit a driving layup and a transition 3-pointer as the Bearcats maintained a narrow lead early in the second half. 

Stanford's two 3-pointers gave Lander leads of 44-38 and then 47-40 with 14 minutes left.

Aguek's layup and Stanford's driving shot off the glass handed the Bearcats their biggest lead of the game at 51-40.

Aguek made a 3-pointer from the left corner and then got open for a layup as Lander's lead was 58-49 with 8:26 to go.

The Bearcats continued to roll as Colvin and Andrews hit from beyond the arc as the lead grew to 58-36 with just over five minutes left.

Stanford's three-point play extended the Bearcat lead to 73-65 with 3:29 to go. Burwell's three-point play made it 76-69 with 2:34 left.

Andrews made four of four free throws in the final minute to give Lander more breathing room.