GREENWOOD -- Head coach Ron Fudala said he wanted his team to truly be tested while playing a tough road schedule during the early part of this season and it paid off with the Sand Sharks picking up a road PBC win over Lander Wednesday night 81-78 inside the Finis Horne Arena in Greenwood.
Five Sand Sharks scored in double-figures in the victory led by Kenney Gaines 17 points off the bench. The senior out of Lakeland also pulled down seven boards. Hudson Norton followed up Saturday's career day with 14 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Dominic Eason finished with 13 points, Dylan Lewis had 11, and Kevaughn Price added 10.
Lander held a three-point lead at the first media timeout, but Norton stayed hot knocking down one from beyond the arc to tie the game at 10. Eason connected for three and Alejandro Ralat picked up his own rebound a knocked down the jumper to take a five-point lead. USCB maintained its lead throughout most of the period, counting every effort Lander thwarted. Gaines added a triple of his own, but the Bearcats split the defense and Inady Legiste kissed one off the glass to tie the game at 24 apiece.
Krishen Atwal's step back jumper put USCB back in front and Lewis quickly added five points to make it a seven-point Sand Shark advantage. Noah Dunn added four points to his first half total to trim the lead to single digits, but Lander's fifth missed three-pointer of the half gave Beaufort a three-point edge with the score 31-28.
Consecutive buckets put the Bearcats up, but Eason answered with a score to recapture the lead. Back-to-back three-balls followed to increase the lead to four and the Sand Sharks defense kept Lander off the board from beyond the arc as the Bearcats had yet to make a three-point basket midway through the second period. A pinball defensive battle led to a Price bucket and Gaines had a wide open three-pointer fall through the nylon while Tasso Sfanos connected one of his two triples to make it a nine-point USCB advantage.
The lead quickly evaporated as Lander went on a 10-5 run over the course of two and a half minutes to make it a one-point game, but as the half progressed USCB continued to stretch the lead back to two possessions. The Sand Sharks made it a six-point game after Gaines's layup through traffic and Lander was forced to foul and the game was on ice as USCB claimed an 81-78 victory.
Beaufort will again be on the road this Saturday as they'll travel to Americus, Georgia for an evening matchup against the Hurricanes of Georgia Southwestern. Tipoff at the Strom Dome is slated for 7:30 p.m. and can be seen live on the PBC Sports Network.
