GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats left no doubt that they would clinch the Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship Wednesday night, dominating Georgia College 88-43 at Horne Arena. It is Lander's first outright PBC title in program history.
Lander last shared a Peach Belt regular-season title with Augusta in 1998-99.
The Bearcats improved to 21-5 overall and 16-3 in the Peach Belt.
Lander celebrated on the court post-game with championship t-shirts and a raucous trophy presentation celebration with many fans sticking around.
The Bobcats fell to 16-11, 11-8.
"It was awesome. It was pretty dominant fashion," Bearcats head coach
Omar Wattad said of the victory. "I had a feeling we were going to turn up tonight. They were locked in. You could feel it from the jump. Super proud of these guys."
Twelve Lander players scored with the first and second teams just as dominant Wednesday.
"We are 10 deep for sure," Wattad said. "It's just hard to play six guards. Breon (Steele) gets the short end of the stick quite a lot. He's a good Division II basketball player."
Terry Leonard Jr. paced Lander with 16 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Greyson Pritzl had an outstanding all-around game with 15 points, a team-high nine rebounds and five assists.
Antewan Webber Jr. scored 15 points for the Bearcats, making six of seven shots from the floor.
Bobby Crawford Jr. added nine points and four blocked shots for Lander.
Jacob Daniels paced the Blue and Gold with six assists.
"The championship feels awesome," Wattad said. "My wife is an MD and we have three small children. She is basically a single mom January, February and March, and I couldn't do this without her. All my family, my mom and dad, showing love. Dr. (Richard) Cosentino believed in me and brought me here. We have the best athletic director in the Peach Belt in Brian Reese. He's a friend. He gives me guidance."
Wattad listed several more support staff. "I'm blessed to be around so many wonderful people," he said.
"Our scout team doesn't get enough recognition," Wattad added of his last bench players. "It's good to see them get out there and be able to play. They don't get the limelight but everybody in the locker room knows. We know their value. Our top 10 (players) is amazing. They let me coach them so hard. They are so coachable."
The Bearcats jumped on Georgia College early and never looked back. Pritzl scored Lander's first seven points on a driving layup through traffic, a long 3-pointer, and a backdoor layup off an inbounds pass from Daniels.
Crawford dunked off a pick-and-roll pass from Pritzl, Daniels converted a three-point play, and then Webber went on a personal 8-0 run as the Bearcats led 21-12.
Navaughn Maise's layup on a put-back doubled up Lander's advantage to 28-14 with 7:32 left in the opening half, and the rout was on.
Crawford scored twice inside and Leonard followed with a 3-pointer as the Blue and Gold led 42-17 with 3:16 to go.
Dylan Canoville's basket pushed the lead to 30, 48-18, with a minute left.
The Bearcats were in complete control at halftime, leading 49-18.
Maise had the hot hand to open the second half, blocking a Georgia College shot off the backboard, making a 3-pointer, and then grabbing a long offensive rebound and hitting Leonard on a backdoor pass for a dunk as the Lander lead grew to 54-22.
Pritzl made his third 3-pointer, Daniels stepped through two defenders for a fast-break layup, Maise swished another 3-pointer, and
Jake Tringone and Canoville scored in the paint as the Bearcats led 68-29 at the 12-minute mark.
After Steele dunked, Webber made a reverse layup with English off the glass and then added a step-back 3-pointer as the Lander advantage grew to 79-31 with 8:07 left.
Desmond Evans joined the scoring fun with a 3-pointer, giving the Bearcats a 51-point lead. Tringone became the sixth Lander player to hit a trey, making it 85-33 with 6:38 left.
Bryce Edwards became the 12th Bearcat to join the scoring column with a mid-range jumper, giving the Blue and Gold an 88-35 lead with 4:16 to go.
Reid Stodghill got on the stat sheet with an emphatic blocked shot for Lander.
Jaden Miller had a mid-range jumper rim out in the final seconds for the Bearcats.
