GREENWOOD - Playing at home for the first time since their run to last year's national championship game, the No. 7 ranked Lander Bearcats outfought UNC Pembroke in the longest game in school history 103-97 in four overtimes Friday night at Horne Arena.
It was Lander's first four-overtime game in school history. The Bearcats last played a triple overtime game February 18, 2023 at Georgia Southwestern.
"We just had to make more history," Lander head coach
Omar Wattad said of the four overtimes, with a smile. "The mental toughness of our guys... it was a war of attrition. That was crazy."
Lander improved to 2-1 on the season after splitting a pair of road games in Florida last weekend against a pair of NCAA Elite Eight squads.
Addison Dyer led the Bearcats with 23 points, making 10 of 13 free throws Friday.
Jameel Rideout added 18 points for Lander,
Jaylen Golston 14,
RJ Ingram 13, and
Amir Reaves and
Jakel Powell 11 points apiece. All six of the double-figure scorers are newcomers for Lander.
Navaughn Maise was one of only two returning players who saw action for the Bearcats Friday night (
Jake Tringone being the other) and finished with eight points, seven rebounds, six steals and five assists.
"That's a crazy stat line," Wattad said of Maise. "He's a dawg, a leader, a winner, without him we are not where we are right now."
Wattad was thankful for an enthusiastic crowd for the first home game of the 2026-27 season.
"We are really thankful for Bearcat nation to come through and show love like that, to stay for four overtimes," Wattad said. "It's a good win. A plethora of issues, namely some really stupid fouls. We have to play exponentially better. I love our 22 assists and (only) 12 turnovers compared to their seven assists and 24 turnovers. We just have to stop fouling. They shot 45 free throws."
UNC Pembroke outscored the Bearcats 13-2 over the last six minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime tied at 67, and put the game into a second, third and fourth OT with game-tying shots, including two Dallas Whitney buzzer beaters. The Braves took advantage of LU fouls, making 36 of 45 free throws.
UNC Pembroke posted three 20-point scorers as Maurio Hanson and Whitney tallied 21 points apiece, and Ca'Darrius Sowell 20.
Ingram and Rideout scored 12 of Lander's first 14 points as the Bearcats led 14-5. Powell scored Lander's next six points starting with a steal and breakaway dunk, and then was knocked down after making a corner trey which he converted into a four-point play making it 20-7 with 11:39 left in the first half.
Reaves scored three times in the paint and Rideout hit a deep three from the top of the key as the Bearcats led 31-21 with five minutes to go.
Lander's scoring slowed down the rest of the half as Golston's trey from the left corner with 3:30 left and
Qurahn Anderson's baseline driving layup with 48 seconds to go gave the Bearcats a 36-27 halftime lead.
The Braves opened the second half on a 14-5 run as Quay Watson's 3-pointer tied it at 41 with 15:37 left.
Lander jumped back ahead as Dyer sandwiched two 3-pointers around a steal and layup as the hosts led 52-43 with 11:07 left.
Powell made a 3-pointer and then dunked off a back-door pass from Maise as the Bearcats maintained their nine-point advantage at 59-50 at the eight-minute mark. Dyer and Maise hit back-to back 3s as the Blue and Gold extended its lead to 65-54 with six minutes left.
Sowell's 3-pointer cut Pembroke's deficit to 65-63 with 3:07 to go. The Braves had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Lander's Tringone intercepted a pass into the paint. The Bearcats however missed the front end of a one-and-one and then Lavant Burgess hit two free throws to pull the visitors into a 65-all tie with 1:19 left.
Lander's Rideout and Pembroke's Hanson traded made jumpers as the teams headed into the final 30 seconds tied at 67. The Bearcats had two shots in the final five seconds that would not fall, sending the game into overtime.
Ingram's 3-pointer from the left corner gave Lander a 72-69 lead with 2:35 left in the first overtime and he added one of two free throws, making it 73-69 with 1:58 to go. But Hanson made a hook shot in the paint and Watson hit a driving layup tying the game at 73 with 43 seconds to go. Both teams missed shots in their final possessions, sending the game into a second OT.
Rideout opened the second overtime with a layup off a backdoor pass from Tringone, and after collecting a steal, Maise swished a 3 from the right corner as Lander led 78-73 with 2:47 left. Hanson's mid-range jumper with 1:21 to go brought the Braves within 78-75. And after a scoreless Lander possession, Pembroke's Whitney made a 3 at the buzzer to send the game into triple OT.
Hanson made three of four free throws to give Pembroke its largest lead of the game at 81-78. Lander's Golston converted a three-point play and the game was tied at 81 with 3:16 to go.
Ingram's two free throws gave the Bearcats an 86-84 lead with 25 seconds left. Each team made one of two free throws, setting the stage for Whitney's game-tying floating jumper with 0.6 seconds left sending the game into a Lander record fourth OT.
Golston's driving layup and turn-around jumper gave the Bearcats a 91-87 lead with three minutes left in the fourth overtime. Rideout converted a three-point play after making a spectacular shot in the paint, giving Lander a 96-91 advantage with 1:27 to go. What followed was a parade to the free-throw line at both ends of the floor. Another Whitney 3 brought the Braves within 96-94 with 1:20 left. But Dyer and Rideout combined for seven free throws in the final 30 seconds to finally send Lander home a winner.
