GREENWOOD, S.C. – Lander shot nearly 59 percent in the second half and used a 19-3 run midway through the first half to turn back visiting UNCP, 79-75, in the final regular season game for both teams on Saturday afternoon in Finis Horne Arena.

The setback snapped a three-game winning streak for UNCP (17-11, 11-7 PBC) who slipped into a tie for third place in the PBC East. The triumph snapped a three-game series losing streak for Lander (18-8, 11-7) who will be the No. 3 seed from the PBC East in the PBC Tournament.

Shahmel Brackett and Marcus Heath each scored a team-best 16 points for UNCP who posted a 42-30 advantage in the rebounding column. Dwight Tolbert scored a game-high 30 points for Lander on 11-of-20 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-12 success rate from the perimeter. David Pruett came off the bench to add 24 points, including a 5-for-11 mark from downtown, while Corey Wright chipped in 11 points of his own.

UNCP led by at least seven points for much of the opening five minutes of the second half, but Wright scored layups on the bookends of a 19-3 run over the next 5:25 that gave the hosts a 59-50 lead with 9:35 left to play. The Braves whittled their deficit down to just one point, 64-63, on a Brackett layup with 5:47 remaining, but were unable to push over the hump. UNCP was within a single possession, 75-73, with 66 seconds remaining, but Tolbert hit a layup and Pruett sank a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to keep UNCP at bay.

The Bearcats used a 10-0 scoring spurt midway through the first half to take a nine-point lead, 19-10, on Tolbert's short jumper at the 10:21 mark, but UNCP answered with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to regain an early lead. An 11-2 run to close the first half would give UNCP a 35-27 advantage at the intermission.

The Braves will be in action again on Friday when they make their second-straight appearance in the PBC Tournament. An opponent and time has yet to be determined, but all games will be played inside Columbus State's Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center.