GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats built an 18-0 lead and were up by 22 points in the second half before holding off Peach Belt Conference rival North Georgia 70-67 Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 13-9 overall, 7-5 in the Peach Belt. The Bearcats are in fifth place in the PBC standings.
The Nighthawks suffered their fifth consecutive loss, falling to 13-11, 5-7.
North Georgia used a 26-6 run to pull within 64-62 with 49 seconds to go. But
Jeremiah Holloway scored off a nice back-door pass from
Torrin Andrews and converted a three-point play with 30 seconds left to help the Bearcats clinch the win.
In a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game, the Blue and Gold built a 58-36 advantage with nine minutes left and then held on. North Georgia has lost six straight at Horne Arena.
"I thought our offense played with far more force in the second half, far more paint touching, far better spacing," Bearcats head coach
Omar Wattad said. "We were fortunate to get the win. It's a deep league (PBC)."
Inady Legiste paced Lander with 20 points on eight of 13 shooting from the floor and nine rebounds.
"Inady is versatile. If he stays healthy, he will play basketball for a long time," Wattad said.
Noah Dunn added 16 points for the Bearcats while Andrews contributed 15 points while leading the team with five assists and three steals.
Caleb Williams added 10 points on five of six shooting for Lander while Holloway contributed five assists.
"
Caleb Williams is a winner. He's good. He can finish with both hands at the rim, he's big and strong," Wattad said. "
Torrin Andrews just hooped. He was himself."
Cayden Charles paced the visitors with 17 points while Ja'mari Arnold added 13 points and Hunter Shedenhelm 10.
Lander had a 37-27 rebounding advantage.
The Bearcats came out on fire, making seven of their first nine shots while holding North Georgia scoreless in the first seven-plus minutes of the game. Lander took an 18-0 lead as the Nighthawks missed their first nine shots.
Andrews opened the scoring for the Blue and Gold with a fast-break layup off a turnover, Legiste made a 3-pointer and then a mid-range jumper near the free-throw line, Dunn swished a 3-pointer from the right side, Williams converted a layup, and then Andrews and Dunn each hit treys from the right corner for an 18-0 lead with 14:12 left in the first half.
But Lander went scoreless over the next seven minutes. North Georgia used a 9-0 run, cutting its deficit in half to 18-9 as Zack Hawkinson led the way with a pair of dunks. Dunn's step-back basket ended the drought with 7:16 to go.
The Blue and Gold led 28-17 at halftime, holding the Nighthawks to seven for 27 shooting from the floor (26 percent).
Lander opened the second half with an 11-4 run, regaining its 18-point lead at 39-21. Williams made a pair of layups and Dunn drained a 3-pointer during the run.
Charles made three 3-pointers, helping North Georgia close within 39-27. But Legiste made a pair of treys and Dunn converted a three-point play, giving the Bearcats a 50-30 advantage with 13:13 left.
Greyson Pritzl's spin move for a layup put Lander up 58-36 with 9:05 left, the team's largest lead of the game.
Shedenhelm's 3-pointer pulled the Nighthawks within 58-48 with 6:13 to go, completing a 12-0 run.
North Georgia got within single digits for the first time since early in the game as Shedenhelm's free throws sliced the deficit to 61-53. Arnold's steal and layup cut it to 61-55 at the four-minute mark as the visitors were on a 19-3 run.
Legiste saved an offensive rebound by calling a timeout as he was falling down and teammate Andrews hit a free throw a few seconds later as Lander led 62-55 with 2:35 left.
Charles made two free throws to pull the Nighthawks within 64-59 with 1:32 to go and then the Blue and Gold committed a turnover. After a couple of offensive rebounds, North Georgia got within 64-62 with 49 seconds left on a long 3-pointer by Shedenhelm.
But Holloway scored on a near dunk on a back-door pass from Andrews, was fouled and converted the three-point play as Lander led 67-62 with 30 seconds to go.
Andrews made one of two free throws, giving the Bearcats a 68-62 advantage with 19 seconds left. He hit two more free throws with four seconds to go and Arnold's 3-pointer at the buzzer ended the scoring.
Lander will host Georgia College Saturday at 3:30.
