GREENWOOD – Tommy Moore made a game-tying 3-pointer with one second left in regulation as the Lander Bearcats rallied from six points down in the final 18 seconds and went on to beat Peach Belt Conference rival Augusta 82-80 in overtime Saturday at
Finis Horne Arena.
Terry Leonard Jr. had a big afternoon for Lander, scoring 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting from the floor including a clutch 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation.
The Bearcats improved to 10-4 overall, 5-2 in the Peach Belt. The Jaguars fell to 8-10, 3-5.
"They did a good job fighting back," Lander head coach
Omar Wattad said. "That was phenomenal down the stretch. Terry made a gigantic shot. Greyson batted it back out to Tommy in front of our bench and Tommy knocked it in with 1.4 seconds left. And the Gods were with us in overtime."
Dylan Canoville posted a double-double for Lander with 18 points and 11 rebounds while also blocking two shots.
Navaughn Maise added 13 points for the Bearcats on five of seven shooting.
Greyson Pritzl added eight points for the Blue and Gold and had a tap-out rebound to Moore for the game-tying trey.
Jacob Daniels paced Lander with six assists.
Charlie McBeath led Augusta with 21 points while Elias Palsson added 19 points.
The Bearcats trailed 75-69 with 18 seconds left and would need a 3-pointer, perhaps a turnover, and another 3-pointer to tie. And that is exactly what would happen.
Moore drove toward the basket but was cut off by the double team. He passed the ball out to Leonard, who hit a 3-pointer making it 75-72 with nine seconds to go.
Augusta failed to get the ball inbounds under its own basket and was called for a 5-second violation, turning the ball back over to Lander.
Moore lobbed an inbounds pass out to Leonard at the top of the key. Leonard's game-tying 3-point attempt hit the front of the rim, but teammate Pritzl tipped the ball out to Moore.
Moore collected Pritzl's tip-out on the right side in front of the Lander bench, well behind the 3-pointer arc, and swished a trey with 1.4 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
The Bearcat momentum carried into overtime as Moore drove into the lane and hit a short jumper off the glass, Leonard nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner, and
Maise dunked off a steal and pass from Canoville for an 82-75 lead with two minutes left.
But Tobias Prall made a tough layup with 45 seconds to go to pull Augusta within 82-80.
After a LU shot-clock violation turned the ball back over to the Jaguars with 14 seconds left, the visitors had a chance to tie or take the lead. McBeath missed a 3-point attempt in the final seconds, but the rebound caromed out of bounds off a Lander player. McBeath then missed an off-balance 3-point attempt from the right corner at the buzzer as his shot hit the top of the backboard.
The Jaguars came out shooting well early, taking a 20-11 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half.
Lander responded with a 15-4 run to take a 26-24 advantage.
Antewan Webber Jr. started the run with a 3-pointer from the right wing, Leonard made a spin move in the lane and swished a floater, and then Canoville took over.
Canoville dunked off an alley-oop pass from Daniels, and Canoville also scored the next three Bearcat buckets in the paint including two put-backs. Then he assisted on
a transition dunk by
Bobby Crawford Jr., giving Lander a 26-24 lead with 4:45 left.
McBeath's 3-pointer with 38 seconds to go gave Augusta a 34-31 halftime advantage.
The Blue and Gold regained a 36-34 lead with the first two baskets of the second half. Leonard made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Maise converted a layup off a behind-the-back pass by Daniels.
After Augusta regained a 42-38 lead, Maise ignited another run for the Bearcats. He swished a 3-pointer from the right corner, made a tough layup through contact, and converted a steal into a layup giving the home team a 45-42 lead with 14:46 to go.
Webber and Pritzl followed with 3-pointers, extending the Lander advantage to 51-44.
The Bearcats stayed out in front thanks to a pair of Canoville dunks, two Leonard baskets and a steal and layup by Pritzl. But Augusta's Palsson made a 3-pointer, tying the game at 62-all with 5:22 left.
Leonard's fall-away, turn-around jumper from near the free-throw line put the Blue and Gold back on top, 64-62, at the five-minute mark. But the Jaguars scored seven unanswered points, taking a 69-64 lead inside four minutes to go.
McBeath's put-back layup gave the Jaguars a 71-65 advantage at the two-minute mark and his two free throws made it 75-69 with 18 seconds left before Lander rallied for the dramatic victory.
