GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats made 12 consecutive shots late in the second half, using a 31-14 run to rally past Columbus State 68-60 Friday night in a battle for first place at Horne Arena.
Lander solidified its hold on first place in the Peach Belt Conference, improving to 14-4 overall and 9-2 in the league. The Cougars fell to 13-6 overall, 7-4 in the PBC.
The game was moved up from Saturday afternoon due to the threat of severe winter weather.
Dylan Canoville paced the Bearcats with 19 points on seven of 10 shooting from the floor and also blocked three shots.
Greyson Pritzl added 18 points for Lander while leading the team with seven rebounds.
Antewan Webber Jr. and
Jacob Daniels added 10 points apiece for the Bearcats.
Jordan Mitchell paced Columbus State with 18 points while Marlon Smith added 17 points.
"Physicality, the ball pressure and touching paint, and aggression turned the game around in the second half," Lander head coach
Omar Wattad said. "We started touching paint in the second half. Daniels changed the game with the ball pressure."
"DC is locked in," Wattad said of Canoville. "He is a man of many talents. He is so down-hill, he can finish and he is a rim protector. He can lead in transition. He boards (rebounds). He is special.
"Antewan Webber had a huge window in the second half, touching paint multiple times, and hit that side-step three, and guarded Marlon Smith really well. Pritzl was scoring well and
Jake Tringone was making winning plays in crucial moments. He is one of the smartest one or two players that I have ever coached as an assistant coach or a head coach."
"Our bench energy in the second half, leaders like
Tommy Moore who has had a different role this season having a serious injury which we thought might end his career, and has accepted his role like a man," Wattad said. "It's a unit, it's a family."
Lander made 27 of 47 shots from the floor (57 percent), with most of the points coming during a dominating 11-minute stretch late in the second half after trailing 44-37.
Daniels made four shots, Canoville and Webber three apiece and Pritzl two during the run of 12 consecutive made shots.
The Bearcats trailed 12-6 before rallying to take the lead on Webber's 3-pointer from the right corner, making it 16-14 with 10:57 left in the opening half.
Mitchell hit two 3-pointers during a 10-0 Columbus State run as the visitors grabbed a 30-23 advantage.
Pritzl's 3-pointer from the top of the key cut Lander's deficit to 30-26 just inside six minutes to go.
Tommy Moore took an inbounds pass near the Cougar free throw-line with four seconds left and drove past three defenders the rest of the way for a layup at the buzzer, pulling the Bearcats within 32-28 at halftime.
Pritzl made a layup off a back-door pass from
Navaughn Maise, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and added a driving layup in the first five minutes of the second half to keep the Blue and Gold close. But Columbus State continued to lead.
The Cougars were up 44-37 with 11 minutes left when Lander came alive, making 12 consecutive shots and going on its game-changing 31-14 run.
Daniels started the run with a driving layup and after Canoville blocked two shots, Webber dunked off an outlet pass from Pritzl. Webber drove to the basket again for two more points as the Bearcats were within 46-45 with 9:12 left.
Webber hit a step-back 3-pointer as the Bearcats took their first lead of the second half at 48-46 with 8:31 to go.
After Columbus State tied it, Pritzl fought for a defensive rebound and threw a long pass to Daniels for a layup to put Lander back on top for good. And Daniels returned the favor, going to the floor for a steal and rolling the ball forward to Pritzl for a two-handed slam and a 52-48 advantage with 6:38 left.
Canoville converted a three-point play and Daniels intercepted a pass and drove for a layup as Lander led 61-53 with 3:43 left.
After Mitchell made his fourth 3-pointer for the Cougars, Canoville snuck behind the defense along the baseline and took an alley-oop pass from Daniels for a thunderous dunk giving Lander a 63-56 lead with 2:12 to go.
Canoville added a three-point play and Pritzl knocked down two free throws as the Bearcats took their first double-digit lead at 68-58 with 1:37 left.
Lander's last miss from the floor was at the 12-minute mark before missing two shots in the final minute.
