GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats scored 16 points in the final minute but their valiant comeback attempt fell short to Georgia College 63-62 in Peach Belt Conference action Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Lander fell to 7-17 overall, 4-11 in the Peach Belt.
The Bobcats improved to 14-11, 6-9.
Tanyia Gordon paced the Bearcats with 15 points.
Kayla Sanders had the hottest hand for Lander, making seven of nine shots from the floor for 14 points. She also led the Bearcats with six rebounds.
Quadaija Langley and Cory Santoro added 10 points apiece for Lander.
Ashyia Willis paced Georgia College with 15 points and four assists. Harper Vick and Alexa Geary scored 10 points apiece for the Bobcats.
Jada Warren led the visitors with 12 rebounds while Cassidy Markle added 10 as Georgia College out-rebounded Lander 46-29.
Langley scored five points for the Bearcats in the final minute while Destiny Middleton came off the bench and made two 3-pointers in the last 2.5 seconds, including a half-court shot at the buzzer.
Santoro's 3-pointer from the right corner gave Lander its only lead of the game at 3-2.
Gordon's three-play pulled the Bearcats within a point for the fourth time, making it 14-13. But the Bobcats scored the next seven points to take a 21-13 lead into the second period. The visitors had six offensive rebounds in the opening quarter, leading to eight second-chance points.
Georgia College twice built 11-point leads in the second period, the last at 31-20 with 2:14 left on two Vick free throws.
Sanders (3-for-3) and Santoro (3-for-4) were a combined 6-for-7 from the floor in the first half, but the rest of the team went 3-for-18 as Lander trailed 31-22 at halftime.
Jakiyah Parker opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer for the Bearcats while Sanders stayed perfect from the floor by making her first two shots of the second half. But Lander was not able to make up any ground and trailed 43-33 going into the final period.
Sanders opened the fourth quarter by banking in a hook shot, her sixth make out of as many attempts to pull the Bearcats within single digits at 43-35.
Lander closed the gap further when Gordon muscled past a defender for a lay-in and then Langley got a friendly roll on a mid-range jumper, cutting the deficit to 44-39 with 5:40 to go.
But Georgia College extended the lead back into double digits at 50-39 inside the four-minute mark on a pair of free throws and two Willis layups.
Gordon converted a fade-away jumper into a three-point play, pulling the Bearcats within 52-44 with 1:50 left.
Langley's free throws pulled Lander within 52-46 with 1:30 to go. But Vick made a driving layup, giving the Bobcats their eight-point advantage back at 54-46.
Sanders drove toward the basket and made a turn-around one-handed mid-range shot in the lane, pulling the hosts within 57-48 at the one-minute mark.
Langley made a turn-around jumper in the lane cutting the Bearcat deficit to 57-50 with 46 seconds left and then added a trey from the top of the key, slicing the score to 59-53 with 24 ticks to go.
Santoro banked in a 3-pointer to pull the Blue and Gold within 60-56 with six seconds left.
After the Bobcats made one of two free throws, Lander got within a possession when Middleton hit a 3-pointer from the right corner off a Sanders inbounds pass making it 61-59 with 2.5 seconds to go.
Willis hit a pair of free throws with one second left to clinch the victory. But not without some drama at the end. Middleton took another inbounds pass from Sanders and launched a 3-point attempt from mid-court to the left of the Bearcat logo, banking it in at the buzzer leaving the Bearcats one point short.
