AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Lander Bearcats saw their season come to an end Saturday afternoon when they lost to Lincoln Memorial 76-63 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
 
Sixth-seeded Lander trailed by just a point with 12 minutes to go but was never able to get the lead the rest of the way against the third-seeded Railsplitters at Christenberry Fieldhouse on the campus of Augusta University.
 
The Bearcats ended their season at 22-10.
 
Lincoln Memorial improved to 28-4 and advances to the Southeast Regional semifinals Sunday versus either North Georgia or UNC Pembroke, the final 32 of the national tournament.
 
It was Lander's first NCAA Tournament game since 2016. The Bearcats won the Peach Belt Conference in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
Tommy Moore led Lander with 18 points, one point shy of his career high. The sophomore guard went 7-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Jared Sherfield scored 11 points and led the team with six rebounds in his final game as a Bearcat.
 
Jacob Cooper, one of the Peach Belt's top freshmen, finished with 10 points and three assists for Lander.
 
Quay Kennedy paced Lincoln Memorial with 14 points and nine rebounds. Martez Brown scored 12 points, Matthew Sells 11 points, Jordan Guest 10 points, and Chase Rankin nine points and seven assists.
 
Lander faced an 8-1 deficit before heating up as Moore swished a pair of 3-pointers, slicing Lincoln Memorial's lead to 8-7.
 
The Bearcats went on an 8-0 run, turning an 11-7 deficit into a 15-11 advantage. Navaughn Maise made a pair of layups, Cooper's bucket in the paint gave Lander the lead, and Sherfield added a put-back.
 
After the Railsplitters tied the game at 15, the Bearcats regained the lead on Cooper's lob pass to Ajang Aguek for a dunk. Aguek tipped one in off another Cooper high lob pass, pulling Lander within 20-19.
 
Cooper put back his own miss, giving the Blue and Gold a 25-24 lead with 6:06 left until halftime.
 
Cooper continued to create points, dribbling inside and then dishing back out to Sherfield for a 3-pointer from the left wing and a 28-24 lead.
 
Lincoln Memorial scored nine unanswered points to take a 33-28 advantage. But the Bearcats stormed back quickly to tie it on Cooper's jump hook in the lane and then Sherfield's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:43 left.
 
Down again 37-33, Moore made a spin move in the lane and scored on a right-handed hook shot to pull Lander within 37-35 with 19 seconds left.
 
The Bearcats trailed 37-35 at the break.
 
Jordan Walters put back his own miss, giving Lincoln Memorial a 41-36 advantage with 18 minutes to go.
 
Trailing by eight, Jaylon Pugh received a pass just inside the arc, took a step back and made a 3-pointer to cut Lander's deficit to 46-41 with 16:19 left.
 
The Railsplitters continued to dominate inside, getting two more buckets in the paint to build a 50-41 lead. Moore's third 3-pointer of the game pulled the Blue and Gold back within six with 14:57 to go.
 
Still trailing 52-44, Aguek spun around defenders for a layup and then Nigel Colvin knocked down a 3-pointer from the right side pulling the Bearcats within 52-49 with 12:36 to go.
 
The comeback continued as Sherfield tipped the ball away from a Lincoln Memorial ball handler toward Maise, who heaved a pass to an open Sherfield for a driving dunk as Lander trailed just 52-51.
 
The uphill battle continued for the Bearcats however. Now down 57-51, Moore hit a 3-pointer from the left corner pulling them within 57-54 with 9:15 left.
 
The Railsplitters took their first double-digit lead at 68-57 with 4:34 remaining when Rankin let go a long finger roll shot from just inside the free-throw line that dropped in.
 
Colvin laid the ball high off the glass for a basket pulling Lander within single digits again. After both teams went scoreless over the next two minutes, Cooper hit a pair of free throws to pull the Bearcats within 68-61 with 1:40 left.
 
Colvin made a layup between two defenders to pull Lander within 70-63 with 1:15 to go. But the Bearcats were outscored 6-0 the rest of the game.