GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats shot 65 percent from the floor in the first half and cruised to a 95-64 victory over the College of Coastal Georgia Monday evening at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 6-3 on the season. The Mariners are 5-6.
The Bearcats posted five double-figure scorers led by
Inady Legiste with 16 points. He made six of 11 shots from the floor and also paced Lander with nine rebounds.
Dominic Stanford and
Terry Leonard Jr. scored 15 points apiece for the Bearcats.
Torrin Andrews added 12 points while leading the Blue and Gold with eight assists.
Noah Dunn scored 11 points for Lander.
Jeremiah Camara paced College of Coastal Georgia with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Bearcats led only 9-8 five minutes into the game before exploding on a 36-9 run. Stanford scored 11 of those 36 points as the Blue and Gold swished seven of 11 from 3-point range during the run.
Greyson Pritzl started the run with a driving layup off a turnover, Andrews made a three-pointer,
Jeremiah Holloway converted a three-point play,
Tim Steele and Dunn made treys, Leonard Jr. scored five points in a row, and Stanford delivered three 3s and a put-back dunk.
Stanford punctuated the streak with an NBA range 3 as Lander led 45-17 with 3:48 left until halftime.
The Bearcats were safely in front 54-26 at the intermission on 65 percent shooting (20 of 31), including 58 percent from behind the arc (11 of 19).
The Mariners started the second half with an 8-0 run as Lander missed its first six shots. But Andrews converted a three-point play with 16:35 left to finally put the Bearcats on the scoreboard.
Leonard Jr. spun around a defender and dunked, giving Lander a 59-34 advantage at the 15-minute mark.
Leonard Jr. and Legiste scored the next 15 Bearcat points, making it 74-38 inside 11 minutes left. Leonard Jr. made a pair of treys while Legiste scored three buckets in the paint and added a free throw.
Despite a 14-3 Coastal Georgia run, Lander stayed comfortably ahead. Dunn, Andrews and Steele made treys extending the Bearcat lead to 85-50 with 4:42 to go.
Will Stewart scored his first career college basket when he swished a 3-pointer from the left corner, giving the Bearcats a 90-62 lead with 1:09 left.
Jake Tringone added a layup in the final minute for Lander.
The Bearcats shooting cooled off in the second half at 35 percent from the floor (13 of 37) including 27 percent from 3-point territory (6 of 22) but the game was well in hand.
The Bearcats conclude the 2024 calendar year with a pair of games in Lakeland, Fla., facing Florida Southern and Barry Dec. 21 and 22.
Lander's next home game is Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m. versus Peach Belt Conference rival USC Beaufort.
