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By: Josh Fuller

COLUMBUS – Lander rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to defeat the 25^th-ranked Columbus State University men's basketball team 94-89 Tuesday night. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.

"The first thing that jumped out to me was our defensive play," stated head coach Robert Moore. I didn't think we did a very good job guarding them, but take your hat off to Lander. They made a lot of plays in the second half."

Columbus State (12-4, 6-3 PBC) held a 43-38 lead at the break, but raced out of the gates in the second half. Lander got the opening bucket of the half with Scott Elder making a jump hook shot. However from there, the Cougars scored nine unanswered points to go in front 52-40. All nine points were scored by different players, including a three from Darren Daniel.

The Cougars would eventually up the lead to a game-high 15 points at the 12:35 mark after a JaCori Payne layup made the score 59-44.

With under nine minutes to go, Lander (13-5, 7-2) still found itself down by 11 points. However, a jumper by Rahu Purdie started a 14-3 run that saw the Bearcats tie the game for the first time since the 7:03 mark in the first half. JR Washington fueled the spurt with eight points while Tobiasz Hose scored the final four points that pulled the game even.

Over the next three minutes, the two sides exchanged blows as the lead changed hands seven times, while there were four ties.

Cam Baker made 1-of-2 free throws at the 2:43 mark to tie the game at 81-all. On the following possession, Travis Fedimon found Washington open in a corner for a three that pushed the Bearcats ahead 84-81 with 2:24 to play.

The Cougars could never regain the lead from there. CSU was able to get as close as two points three times over the final two minutes and 13 seconds, but Lander went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line to ice the game.

Washington finished the night with a game-high 41 points going 13-for-22 from the floor, including a 7-for-13 mark from three-point range. He also had seven rebounds and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Hose added 27 points, thanks in part to a 13-for-15 shooting performance for the free throw line.

All five Columbus State starters scored in double figures led by Baker's 30. The senior was 9-for-15 from the floor and connected on 3-of-4 three-point attempts.

Payne added 15 while Brent Jackson and Brentine Taylor scored 12 points each. Jackson had a game-high six assists. Daniel was the fifth Cougar in double-digits in points with 11.

As a team, CSU shot 48.4 percent (31-for-64) from the field, but posted a 34.8 percent (8-for-23) clip from three. It was the second straight game that the Cougars shot under 35 percent from downtown. In the previous 14 games, CSU only posted below that mark twice.

Lander also shot 48.4 percent (31-for-64) and went 8-for-17 from three-point range. At the free throw line, the Bearcats were nearly flawless going 24-for-27, including 19-for-19 in the second half.

Neither side could find separation from the other in the beginning of the game as no team held a lead larger than five-points until the 10:28 mark.

Jackson put the Cougars up 21-15 with a three-point play after being fouled on a layup. The Bearcats would respond with a 7-0 run that saw Lander seesaw in front of the Cougars 22-21 with 8:31 to play in the half.

Lander would hold that lead for the majority of the next few minutes until a Payne three-pointer put the Cougars right back in front 33-31. The Cougars would build up a five-point lead at the half thanks to another Payne three, answering a long ball from Washington in the final seconds of the half.

Columbus State will once again hit the road as the Cougars travel to Young Harris for a PBC matchup. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.