ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. –
Inady Legiste's 25-point, 11-rebound double-double helped the Lander men's basketball team to an 82-77 road win over Flagler in Peach Belt Conference action on Wednesday night.
It was Legiste's third double-double of the season as the Bearcats improved to 11-7 overall and 5-3 in the PBC. Flagler fell to 10-7 and 4-4 in conference.
Three others joined Legiste – who made 11 of 19 shots – in double figures:
Noah Dunn (19),
Sebastian Augustave (12) and
Torrin Andrews (11). Augustave nailed four 3s in the first half, including three straight from the right corner, to set a new season high.
Lander dug out of an early 18-11 hole via a 13-5 run to take a 24-23 advantage midway through the opening half after Dunn made a layup and a 3 on successive possessions – he scored eight points total over that span.
Tim Steele's long-range make brought the Bearcat margin to 31-24 with 8:52 left in the half and the Blue and Gold kept the momentum flowing, carrying an 11-point cushion into halftime, 46-35.
Lander shot 18 of 33 (54.5%) from the floor in that opening half, and 8 of 18 from downtown (44.4%).
The Saints evened the game at 50 four minutes into the second half and later gained a 57-50 lead with 12:39 left. Lander trimmed the deficit to 57-55 when
Jake Tringone hit a 3 and Legiste put in a layup before the 11-minute mark.
Dunn's lay-in with 7:50 to go gave the Bearcats their first lead in eight minutes, 63-62, and they extended it to 74-68 with 3:23 remaining.
A quick 7-0 Flagler run forced Lander's hand again, but they responded by outscoring the hosts 8-2 the rest of the way by going a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line to seal the deal.
The Bearcats crashed the glass to the tune of a 40-30 rebounding edge over the Saints; 11 of those came on the offensive end and led to 19 second-chance points. The bench produced 34 points, and opportunities at the charity stripe were taken advantage of with Lander netting 13 of 16 (81.3%).
The Bearcats return to
Finis Horne Arena this Saturday (Feb. 1) for a conference contest against Georgia Southwestern. Tip is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
