Box Score GREENWOOD, S.C.--Lander University (4-10, 1-6 PBC) becomes the last Peach Belt team to grab its first conference win as the Bearcats defeat USCA (3-11, 1-7 PBC) 71-64 at Horne Arena Saturday night. The Bearcats continue their streak over USCA, winning during the last three meetings and holding the overall series record at 41-26. The Pacers couldnít get deep shots to fall as they hit only 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from beyond the arch while Lander knocked back 56.3 percent (9-of-16). (ARNOLD COATES PICTURED)

J.T. Greene lead the Bearcat offense with 15 points, hitting 3-of-5 treys and 4-of-5 from the field. Teammate Emanuel Hodrea hit two threeís and 4-of-8 from the field, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds. Two other Bearcat players ended the night with double figure points. 

Arnold Coates was the leader for USC Aiken with 13 points, his third-highest on the season. He also tabbed seven rebounds while hitting 6-of-14 from the field.

Richard Blocker had a stellar night on the defensive end pulling down 12 rebounds, tying his career record. Blocker has hit 12 rebounds in two other games this season for the Pacers. He also added eight points, shooting 3-of-8 from the field.

The night started off with a bang for the Lander offense who sailed over the Pacers with a 19-5 run in the opening eight minutes. Contributing to that were three treys by Hodrea, Greene and Derek Brooks. The Pacers came back for a short run (7-0) with Coates hitting a jumper at 12:00 on the clock followed shortly by a three-point basket from Richard Glover.

Down by nine points, Blocker feeds the ball up top to Kingsley Oguchi who knocks back a three to get the Pacers within five, their closest margin since the opening minutes. Lander proved they did not want the game to get away from them. A 10-4 run with two minutes left in the half gave the Bearcats the 11-point advantage at the half (39-28). 

The second-half opened much the same as the first with Lander increasing their lead to 15 (49-34) with 13:07 on the clock. Pacers battled back this time with a kick off to their run by a huge three from Glover. USCA hit a few more threes and a couple jumpers to cut the Bearcat lead to just two (54-52) with just over six minutes remaining in the game.

The game was kept close over the next couple minutes forcing the Pacers to foul multiple Bearcats in the remaining minute of game time. Six consecutive made free throws drained the possibility of victory from the Pacer bench. Lander went on to finish 71-64.

The Pacers finished shooting 44.9 percent from the field (9-of-22) and Lander hit 45.7 percent (13-of-26).

USC Aiken will travel to Georgia College and State University on Monday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. Lander plays at the same time but will host the Clayton State Lakers.
Newspaper Box Score
USC Aiken vs Lander University
01/21/06 7:30 at Horne Arena, Greenwood, SC
At Horne Arena, Greenwood, SC

LANDER UNIVERSITY 71, USC AIKEN 64

USC AIKEN (3-11, 1-7 PBC)
Coates, Arnold 6-14 1-2 13; Oguchi, Kingsley 3-7 3-3 10; Poston, Josh 2-4 3-3 8; Glover, Richard 3-3 0-0 8; Blocker, Richard 3-8 2-3 8; Oates, Theo 3-5 2-2 8; Burr, Kenny 1-3 0-0 3; Varga, Lukas 0-3 3-4 3; DePaula, Tiago 1-1 1-2 3; Brown, Chris 0-0 0-0 0; Sampson, Anthony 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 15-19 64.

LANDER UNIVERSITY (4-10, 1-6 PBC)
Greene, J.T. 4-5 3-4 15; Hodrea, Emanuel 4-8 3-5 13; Jackson, Jarred 3-7 4-6 11; Griffin, Michael 3-5 4-5 10; McEachern, Joe 2-5 3-4 7; Davis, Jason 1-2 3-6 6; Brooks, Derek 2-4 0-0 5; Smith, Scottie 1-5 0-0 2; Rawlings, Jahi 1-4 0-0 2; Jelenic, Zoran 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 21-46 20-31 71.

USC Aiken......................... 28 36 - 64
Lander University............. 39 32 - 71

3-point goals-USC Aiken 5-19 (Glover, Richard 2-2; Oguchi, Kingsley 1-2; Burr, Kenny 1-3; Poston, Josh 1-3; Varga, Lukas 0-2; Oates, Theo 0-2; Blocker, Richard 0-4; Coates, Arnold 0-1), Lander University 9-16 (Greene, J.T. 4-5; Hodrea, Emanuel 2-3; Jackson, Jarred 1-2; Davis, Jason 1-2; Brooks, Derek 1-2; Jelenic, Zoran 0-1; Griffin, Michael 0-1). Fouled out--USC Aiken-Blocker, Richard, Lander University-None. Rebounds-USC Aiken 32 (Blocker, Richard 12), Lander University 30 (McEachern, Joe 5; Griffin, Michael 5). Assists-USC Aiken 6 (Coates, Arnold 2), Lander University 9 (Griffin, Michael 2; Rawlings, Jahi 2; Greene, J.T. 2). Total fouls-USC Aiken 27, Lander University 19. A-480