GREENWOOD, SC – Tar Heel native Rahu Purdie fired in 19 points Saturday but his Lander Bearcats were defeated in the championship game of their own Bearcat Classic 88-75 by Carson-Newman.
Purdie’s 19 points led the scoring for the Bearcats who were playing without leading scorer J. R. Washington. Purdie grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and was credited with 3 steals.
The West Bladen grad flipped a lay-up high off the backboard and popped in a jumper to slice an early Carson-Newman lead to 19-15. Purdie sank a jumper for a 39-38 Lander lead, then beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-point bomb that stretched the margin to 42-38.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 17-4 blitz, before Lander rallied back to within 69-66. However Carson-Newman closed out the game with a 19-9 run.
Purdie tallied 10 points in Lander’s 70-53 opening round victory over Brevard Friday night . Early in the second half, Purdie grabbed an offensive rebound, tightroped the baseline and nailed a baseline jumper to put the Bearcats up 40-26.
Moments later Purdie’s driving lay-up kept Lander ahead 46-32.The sophmore guard finished with 4 rebounds and 3 assists and made 4 of 5 free throws.
The Bearcats, now 1-1, will travel to King, TN for their next game Saturday at 4 p.m.
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