GREENWOOD, S.C. — Lander’s Michael Panaggio hit three free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Bearcats a 73-70 Peach Belt Conference victory over visiting Armstrong Atlantic State on Wednesday evening.
Armstrong’s junior Emmanuel Tiluscar had his second consecutive 20-plus point performance, scoring 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, knocking down two threes and hitting 5-of-6 free throws. Hichem Benayad-Cherif added 15 points, and Kyle Callanan finished with six points and nine assists.
Panaggio scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Bearcats, while Dermaine Smith chipped in 17 points and Jareal Smith chipped in 10 points.
Former Johnson star Jareal Smith had 10 points and six assists.
The Pirates (5-7, 2-3 PBC) trailed the Bearcats (8-6, 2-3 PBC) by 13 points early in the second half, but rallied to tie the game on a three-pointer by Callanan with 27.2 seconds remaining. Lander ran down the game clock and Panaggio put up a three-point shot with 1.1 seconds left from the right wing that was short, but Armstrong’s Darius Morales was whistled for the foul, giving Panaggio three free throws.
Panaggio hit all three and the Pirates’ court-length pass was broken up, giving the Bearcats their fourth win in the last five games. Armstrong falls for the third time in the last four games.
ARMSTRONG (5-7, 2-3 PBC)
Morales 2-6 1-2 5, Eversley 4-5 1-2 9, Tiluscar 7-15 5-6 21, Bellinger II 2-8 0-0 5, Callanan 2-3 0-0 6, Benyad-Cherif 7-13 0-0 15, Sabiiti 1-1 0-0 2, Walker 0-2 0-0 0, Baines 2-3 0-1 4, Brown 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 28-60 7-11 70.
LANDER (8-6, 2-3 PBC)
J.Smith 2-8 4-4 10, Panaggio 10-13 3-3 30, D.Smith 5-7 7-11 17, Washington 0-8 0-0 0, Pendarvis 3-8 0-0 6, Carrier 2-4 1-2 5, Martin 1-1 0-0 2, Hardy 0-0 2-2 2, Myers 0-0 1-4 1. Totals 23-49 18-26 73.
Halftime—Lander, 36-27. 3-point goals—Armstrong 7-22 (Tiluscar 2-6, Bellinger II 1-6, Callanan 2-2, Benayad-Cherif 1-5 Walker 0-1, Brown 1-2), Lander 9-20 (Smith 2-3, Panaggio 7-9, Washington 0-6, Pendarvis 0-2). Fouled out—Morales (Armstrong). Rebounds—Armstrong 37 (Tiluscar 8), Lander 30 (D.Smith 8). Assists—Armstrong 19 (Callanan 9), Lander 17 (J.Smith 6). Total fouls—Armstrong 19, Lander 13. Technicals—none. A—275.
WOMEN
ARMSTRONG 75, LANDER 47
GREENWOOD, S.C. — Armstrong placed five players in double figures in picking up a Peach Belt Conference victory over host Lander University.
The Pirates (7-4, 2-3 PBC) halted a two-game slide with the win over the Bearcats (7-7, 2-3 PBC) and also won for the first time in nine tries over Lander. Armstrong’s last win over Lander came on Feb. 28, 2009, a 71-64 win in Savannah.
Senior Tyler Carlson led the offensive output for the Pirates with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Juniors Amber Howell and Dee Hayward scored 12 points apiece. Davis chipped in 11 points, and freshman Brigitta Barta added 10 points.
Alexis Armstrong led the Bearcats with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Jamelia James added 10 points.
Armstrong held Lander to just 24.5 percent shooting from the floor (16-of-65) and 18.5 percent from three-point range (5-of-27) in the victory while shooting 45.2 percent themselves from the floor (28-of-62) as well as 40 percent from three-point range (10-of-25).
ARMSTRONG (7-4, 2-3 PBC)
Wells 4-8 0-1 9, Howell 5-6 2-2 12, Davis 4-11 0-0 11, Carlson 6-12 2-3 18, Coney 1-8 0-0 2, Mitchell 0-0 0-2 0, Barta 4-7 2-3 10, Johnson 0-0 1-1 1, Hayward 4-5 2-2 12, Findura 0-0 0-0 0, Bognar 0-0 0-2 0, Lewis 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 9-16 75.
LANDER (7-7, 2-3 PBC)
Armstrong 3-11 4-6 11, Watkins 4-12 0-0 8, James 3-14 2-2 10, Zandi 3-8 0-0 7, McCray 1-6 2-2 4, Kubicka 0-3 2-2 2, Kelly 1-5 0-1 3, Reynolds 1-5 0-0 2, West 0-0 0-0 0, Hudson 0-0 0-0 0, Parker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-65 10-13 45.
Halftime—Armstrong, 37-23. 3-point goals—Armstrong 10-25 (Wells 1-2, Davis 3-8, Carlson 4-7, Coney 0-3, Hayward 2-3, Lewis 0-2), Lander 5-27 (Armstrong 1-4, James 2-11, Zandi 1-5, Kelly 1-3, Reynolds 0-3, Parker 0-1). Fouled out—none. Rebounds—Armstrong 44 (Davis 7), Lander 45 (Armstrong 9). Assists—Amstrong 22 (Davis 7), Lander 11 (James 3). Total fouls—Armstrong 15, Lander 20. Technicals—none. A—N/A.