Box Score DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Inady Legiste made eight of nine shots from the floor and was one of five Lander double-figure scorers as the sixth-seeded Bearcats beat third-seeded Lincoln Memorial 85-76 in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.
Lander (21-9) will face either No. 2 seed USC Aiken or seventh-seeded Emmanuel Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Regional semifinals at the Convocation Center on the campus of the University of North Georgia.
The Regional championship game is Tuesday night at the Convocation Center with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight.
The Railsplitters ended their season at 24-9.
Lander shot 58 percent from the floor (30 of 52), made 12 of 24 shots from behind the 3-point line and out-rebounded Lincoln Memorial 37-22.
Legiste was spectacular in shooting 89 percent from the floor, making several tough baskets in the paint. He scored 21 points while grabbing 11 rebounds to be one of two Bearcats posting double-doubles.
Noah Dunn made three important 3-pointers in the first half when Lander twice had to come from behind and finished with 15 points.
Dominic Stanford added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Phillip Burwell was the leading Bearcat scorer in the game when he fouled out with more than 15 minutes left, finishing with 13 points.
Jacob Cooper made three important baskets in the second half which helped Lander extend its lead and finished with 11 points.
Nigel Colvin added nine points while leading the Bearcats with four assists.
Wes Enis paced Lincoln Memorial with 23 points, Me'Kell Burris added 14 points, Jordan Walters 13 and Chase Rankin 10.
Martez Brown who averages a double-double for the Railsplitters and came into the game shooting 72 percent from the floor was held to four points, all coming in the final minute.
Burwell made a 3-pointer from the top of the key which pulled the Bearcats within 8-7 with 16:55 left in the first half. Lincoln Memorial scored the next seven points for a 15-7 lead with 15:30 to go.
Stanford's 3-pointer ended Lander's scoring drought. But the Railsplitters built their lead to 20-12 on a Walters trey with 13:18 left, their biggest lead of the game.
The Bearcats stormed back with an 11-0 run to take their first lead since it was 4-2. Burwell made a driving layup, Stanford hit a 3-pointer from the left wing, Burwell swished a game-tying trey after two Lander offensive rebounds, and Dunn drained the go-ahead 3-pointer for a 23-20 lead at the 9:33 mark.
The Bearcats were forced to rally again after falling behind 30-25 with seven minutes to go. Dunn made a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key with the shot clock down to two seconds, and Dunn hit yet another trey giving Lander a 31-30 lead with 4:41 left.
Colvin's 3-pointer got a friendly bounce from the left corner, giving the Bearcats a 34-30 advantage at the four-minute mark.
Colvin's off-balance mid-range jumper increased the Lander lead to 37-33 with 3:17 to go. Neither team scored again from the floor the rest of the half as the Bearcats led 37-34 at the break.
Lander made eight 3-pointers in the first half while out-rebounding the Railsplitters 17-12.
Lincoln Memorial's Enis made a game-tying 3-pointer, knotting the score at 39-all with 18:12 left.
Legiste gave the Bearcats the lead back with a trey from the top of the key and Burwell hit another 3-pointer that went through the net as the shot clock was expiring, making it 45-41 with 16:49 to go.
The Railsplitters scored the game's next eight points, including a four-point play by Enis, to take a 49-45 advantage. During the run, Lander's top scorer in the game Burwell fouled out.
But Stanford drove the baseline, made a tough layup and converted a three-point play to pull the Bearcats within 49-48. Stanford made another tough basket through contact as Lander was down 51-50.
Legiste gave the Bearcats a 52-51 lead at the 14-minute mark when he powered through a double team for a layup. They would not trail again.
Legiste was double-teamed again on the outside and flipped a pass between the two defenders to Cooper for a layup and three-point lead at 54-51
Legiste completed the 12-2 run when he made another tough basket in the paint and converted a three-point play.
Lander beat the shot clock yet again when Cooper made a short jumper in the lane as the shot clock was expiring, getting credit for the bucket after an official review. And Legiste added a 12-foot jumper for a 61-57 Bearcat lead with 9:42 to go.
Cooper made a pair of driving layups through traffic as Lander's advantage grew to 65-58 inside the eight-minute mark.
The Bearcats took their first double-digit lead on Colvin's 3-pointer from the top of the key making it 70-59 with 6:36 left. Legiste continued his dominant play inside with another basket in the paint as the lead grew to 13, the largest lead of the game.
Lincoln Memorial used a 6-0 run to pull within 73-65. But Legiste made a 3-pointer from the top of the key, increasing the Lander advantage to 76-65 just inside the three-minute mark.
Tommy Moore's two free throws gave the Bearcats some breathing room at 78-69 with 1:23 left.
Brown made a pair of baskets and Enis knocked down a 3-pointer that pulled the Railsplitters within 81-76 with 35 seconds to go.
Lander beat the full-court press to extend its lead as Moore's bounce pass to Dunn for a layup made the score 83-76 with 28 seconds left.
