M. Basketball

1/30/2010

Johnson paces Bearcats past Georgia Southwestern in OT

Darius Johnson

AMERICUS, Ga. - Led by Darius Johnson's 16 points, the Lander men's basketball team placed four players in double figures Saturday afternoon as the Bearcats defeated Georgia Southwestern University, 60-58 in overtime, in a Peach Belt Conference game at the Storm Dome.

Lander improves to 8-11 overall and 3-8 in the PBC, while GSW drops to 5-14, 1-8. The Bearcats will next host nationally ranked Augusta State at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 6.

Johnson connected on 7-of-15 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws while grabbing six rebounds and recording three steals to lead the Bearcats. Tovi Bailey added 12 points, Da'Shon Bailey 11, and Dane Sparrow 10.

The Hurricanes were paced by Evan Mobley's 16 points, while Chris Rawls added 13 points and six rebounds. Will Kenimer led the Hurricanes in rebounds with seven.

Trailing 51-48 with 1:40 left in regulation, Barrino cut the lead to 51-50 on a layup at 1:24 then Dane Sparrow tied the game at 51-51 on a free throw following a steal.

The Bearcats went up 55-51 on a Johnson layup and tip-in to open the overtime. After GSW cut the lead to 55-53 on Evan Mobley's layup, Lander followed with a Sparrow jumper and a pair of Johnson free throws to take a 59-53 advantage with 21 seconds left.

Mobley's layup with 12 seconds left cut Lander's lead to 59-55, then GSW's Ric Roderick netted a three-pointer following Barrino's missed free throw to cut the margin to 59-58 with three seconds left. Lander closed out the scoring with Spruill's free throw with two seconds remaining.

The Bearcats dominated the first minutes of the game, jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the first seven minutes of the contest. GSW gradually cut into Lander's lead and the Bearcats led 22-20 at halftime.

The Hurricanes tied the game at 22-22 with 19:37 left in the first half on two Mobley free throws, then the Hurricanes went up 35-30 on a pair of Sedale McGee-Jones free throws at 11:19.

Lander used a jumper by Barrino and a Bailey three-point play to tie the game at 35-35 with 9:54 remaining and neither team led by more than four points until the end of regulation.

Lander, which led 22-20 at halftime, connected on 25-of-52 field goals for 48.1 percent, including 2-of-8 three pointers for 25 percent. The Bearcats also made 8-of-14 free throws for 57.1 percent.

GSW made 19-of-41 floor shots for 46.3 percent, including 6-of-15 threes for 40 percent. GSW also made 14-of-17 foul shots for 82.4 perents.

Both teams recorded 27 rebounds.