GREENWOOD, S.C. | Jacob Cooper scored 21 points as No. 17 Lander University rallied for a 74-66 Peach Belt Conference men's basketball victory over Georgia College & State University Saturday (Jan. 20) afternoon at Finis Horne Arena.

The Bearcats improved to 14-2 overall and 6-0 inside the league, while the Bobcats fell to 7-9 and 0-6. GCSU will remain on the road for a 7:30 p.m. contest against Clayton State University Wednesday (Jan. 24) in Morrow, Georgia.

Georgia College used a 12-0 run, culminating on a Brendan Rigsbee pull-up jumper with 10:22 left in the first half to give the Bobcats a 24-12 lead.

Lander led 38-35 at the half before the Bobcats opened up a 50-42 lead with 13:45 left as Georgia College, which hit 12 of its first 14 three-pointers. Austin Sloan hit two long-distance shots, while Ian Davis added another.

A Sloan long-ball gave the Bobcats a 59-54 lead with 8:27 to go, but the Bearcats scored the next 14 points to take a 68-59 lead with 3:25 remaining. Cooper scored 14 of his points in the final 20 minutes. The closest that GCSU would get the remainder of the way was six points (72-66) after a Rigsbee layup with 64 seconds to play.

Sloan led the Bobcats with 21 points and six rebounds. Sloan went 7-of-11 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from long distance.  Rigsbee finished in double figures with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Sloan went 5-of-9 from the floor and drained both three-point attempts. Oscar Lynch scored nine points as he connected on all three of his three-pointers. Brady Spence also finished with eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for three consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won four consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.

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