West Bladen grad Rahu Purdie fired in 14 points Saturday as his Lander Bearcats held off UNC-Pembroke 62-59 in their Peach Belt Conference opener.
Purdie connected on 5-9 of shots from the field and made 3 of 4 free throws. The White Oak native drained 1 of 2 3-point shot attempts and was credited with one assist and 2 rebounds.
The Braves had trimmed an 11-point Lander lead to 50-44, but Purdie canned a free throw with 6:19 remaining then bombed in a 3-point shot with 5:55 left to stretch the Bearcat lead back to 54-46.
UNC-Pembroke rallied back to within 60-59 with 1:22 on the clock. Bearcat leading scorer J. R. Washington hit two free throws at the 1:04 mark to push the lead back to 62-59. The Braves missed a pair of 3-point attempts in the final minute, and Purdie grabbed a key defensive rebound to help seal the verdict.
The Bearcats jumped in front early as Purdie tossed in a jumper for an 8-4 lead, and after a UNC-Pembroke 3-pointer, Purdie nailed another jumper and dropped in a lay-up for a 12-7 Lander lead 12:41 before halftime.
Purdie popped in another jumper with 7 seconds remaining in the half to give the Bearcats a 31-26 halftime lead.
Purdie sank a pair of free throws with 16:23 left in the game for a 43-32 Lander lead.
The Bearcats improved to 7-2 overall and will travel to Atlanta Thursday night for a 7:30 game against Peach Belt opponent Clayton State.
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