GREENWOOD – In a game that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, Jaylen Jordon made three big plays in the final seconds to lift Flagler past the Lander Bearcats 83-80 in a crucial Peach Belt Conference game Wednesday night.
Lander (15-12, 9-8 Peach Belt) and Flagler (15-11, 9-8) are now tied for fifth place in the PBC standings behind regular season champion Columbus which clinched Wednesday, Augusta, USC Aiken and USC Beaufort.
It was Senior Night for the Bearcats and
Noah Dunn and
Inady Legiste appropriately led the way with 24 and 20 points, respectively, in their final game at Horne Arena. Legiste made eight of 12 shots from the floor; Dunn eight of 15.
Jeremiah Holloway added 13 points while leading Lander with six assists.
Two more seniors
Tim Steele and
Torrin Andrews had good nights. Steele made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points while Andrews added eight points and four assists.
Jake Tringone paced the Bearcats with eight rebounds.
Seniors Dunn, Legiste, Steele,
Caleb Williams,
Dominic Stanford and
Sebastian Augustave were honored before the game.
"It was a tough loss," Bearcats head coach
Omar Wattad said. "All the credit goes to Flagler. They deserved it. I feel bad for the seniors, their last game here. But at the end of the day, our guys fought. They (Flagler) just made a few more plays. I don't think we necessarily deserved to lose the game."
Jax Bouknight led six double-figure scorers for Flagler with 22 points. But it was Jordon who made what proved to be the winning basket with 28 seconds to go, blocked Lander's attempt to regain the lead in the final seconds, was fouled and hit two free throws.
Steele made a 3-pointer from the right corner, giving the Bearcats a 12-9 advantage with 12:08 left in the first half.
Dunn converted a three-point play and then swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key, keeping the Blue and Gold out front 25-21 with 4:13 left.
Flagler put together an 11-2 run to lead 32-27 with 1:50 to go. But Andrews hit a contested trey and Holloway nailed a left corner 3-pointer, tying the game at 33-all.
Hoku Fisher's back-court steal and layup gave the Saints a 37-35 advantage at the break as they made six of their last seven shots.
Lander used an 8-1 run to take a 51-44 lead with 15 minutes left on a Legiste three-point play and then a layup and 3-pointer by Andrews.
But Bouknight made a pair of treys and scored 11 points during an 18-8 run as Flagler stormed back ahead 62-59.
Steele's 3-pointer from the left corner and Dunn's basket tied the game at 62 and 64, respectively, as the clock ticked down towards eight minutes to go.
Steele's trey from the right corner gave the Blue and Gold a 71-67 advantage with 5:54 left.
Mason Manning's layup with three minutes left gave the Saints a 77-74 lead.
Legiste and Manning traded baskets as Flagler remained on top 79-78 with 1:47 to go.
Holloway's two free throws put Lander back in front 80-79 with 1:20 left.
The Saints took the lead back again at 81-80 with 28 seconds left after keeping the ball due to having the possession arrow and then tipping out an offensive rebound. Jordon nearly had the ball stolen from him but recovered to lay a shot up that rolled off the front of the rim into the basket.
The Bearcats hoped to regain the lead with perhaps the winning points, but Holloway's driving layup attempt was blocked high off the glass by Jordon.
Jordon also got the defensive rebound and was fouled, hitting both free throws for an 83-80 lead with three seconds left.
Lander was unable to catch the inbounds pass with one second left and did not get the shot off.
The Bearcats play their final regular-season game Saturday at USC Aiken. The PBC Tournament will be next week with Lander playing on the road.
