GREENWOOD –
Inady Legiste scored 21 points while four Lander teammates scored at least 15 points as the Bearcats beat Francis Marion 96-85 Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 2-2 while its in-state rival Patriots fell to 2-3. Francis Marion is a former Peach Belt Conference rival.
Legiste flirted with a double-double, leading the Bearcats with 21 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.
Noah Dunn contributed 18 points for Lander while
Greyson Pritzl,
Jeremiah Holloway and
Torrin Andrews added 15 points apiece.
Caleb Williams also had nine rebounds while pacing the Blue and Gold with five assists.
Jordan Simpson led all scorers with 22 points while Ibrahim Wattara and Ramez Zayed added 12 points apiece for Francis Marion.
The Bearcats exploded out of the gate with a 25-6 run over seven minutes in which they made six of eight 3-point attempts. Andrews swished three corner 3s, Dunn hit two treys including one from NBA range, and Legiste also made a 3.
The run also included a
Terry Leonard Jr. dunk off a
Tim Steele steal as Lander led 25-9 with 12:50 left in the opening half.
Francis Marion responded with 15 unanswered points, pulling within 25-24 with 9:27 to go on Simpson's third 3-pointer of the run.
Simpson made a mid-range jumper to tie at 30-all with 5:52 left.
The Bearcats opened up a 41-34 lead on a put-back by Williams, Pritzl's 3-pointer from the right wing, two Holloway free throws, and driving layups by Dunn and Legiste.
Lander led 43-38 at halftime.
After the Patriots pulled within 45-42, the Blue and Gold ripped off seven unanswered to push the lead back into double digits at 52-42 with 16:11 left. Dunn made a 3-pointer and a driving layup while Legiste added a put-back.
Holloway's 3-pointer pushed the Bearcat lead to 55-44, completing a 10-2 run.
Zayed's 3-pointer cut Francis Marion's deficit to 58-55 with 11:32 to go.
Lander responded with a game-breaking 14-2 run, opening its lead back up to 72-57 with eight minutes left. Pritzl swished a 3-pointer from the right corner and made two driving layups, Legiste converted a turn-around jumper in the lane and a driving layup, and Dunn added a driving bucket.
Holloway's trey from the left wing matched the largest Bearcat lead of the game at 75-59 with 7:35 to go.
Having already collected five baskets in the paint in the second half, Legiste showed his range with a 3-pointer making it 84-66 inside the five-minute mark.
The Patriots used a 10-0 run to pull within 87-76 with 1:30 to go on Zayed's layup off a steal.
The Blue and Gold clinched the victory as Andrews made six of six free throws in the final 1:20 while Williams added two from the stripe.
Lander travels to Petersburg, Va., to face Virginia State in its next game Saturday, Nov. 23, at 4 p.m., where the Bearcats will face former teammate
Jacob Cooper. The next home game is Tuesday, Dec. 3, versus Converse at 7 p.m.
