GREENWOOD, S.C. --- Dominic Stanford recorded 20 points and five assists to lead the Lander University men's basketball team to a 71-54 victory over visiting Tusculum University Friday night at Finis Horne Arena.
The Bearcats (1-2) used a 19-3 run which spanned the first and second halves as Lander snapped a three-game losing streak to the Pioneers in the 10th meeting between the two schools.
Tusculum freshman Taj Kimber recorded a season-best 17 points which included three 3-pointers. Sophomore Bryce Jackson accounted for his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Stanford scored 18 points alone in the second half shooting 7-of-11 from the floor with all of his four misses coming beyond the three-point arc. LU's Noah Dunn added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Jeremiah Holloway contributed nine points on his 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Tusculum's Malachi Hale added seven points and six rebounds, while Ryan Neal posted five points in the contest.
With the Bearcats leading 24-20 with four minutes left in the first half, Lander scored 11 straight points over a span of 2:19 to take a 35-20 advantage. TU's J3 Swindell halted the run with a three-pointer as the Pioneers went into the locker room down 35-23.
The Bearcats scored the first eight points to open the second period to open up a 20-point lead (43-23) and would later go up by its largest margin at 49-27 following a Dunn layup with 11:43 left in the game.
The Pioneers answered with a 14-2 run over the next 4:23 to trim the deficit to 10 (51-41) thanks to a pair of Kimber triples and six points from Jackson.
But the Bearcats responded with a 10-1 spurt which was capped off by a Stanford three-point play to put the game out of reach at 61-42 with five minutes to go.
The Pioneers finished the game shooting 19-of-60 from the field (32%) including 22 percent from three-point territory (6-of-27). Lander ended the contest shooting 46 percent going 28-of-61.
Tusculum out-rebounded the Bearcats by a 42-36 margin but Lander held a 40-22 advantage in scoring in the paint and a 16-11 edge in second-chance points.
Tusculum is off to its first 0-4 start in 10 years as the Pioneers have the toughest strength of schedule in the South Atlantic Conference and 20th most difficult in NCAA Division II.
The Pioneers will continue their season-long six-game road swing this Wednesday when they open league play at arch-rival Carson-Newman University. Tip-off time is 7:30 p.m. from Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City.
