West Bladen grad Rahu Purdie pumped in 13 points and dished out 3 assists Wednesday night to spark his Lander Bearcats to a 71-59 Peach Belt Conference victory over visiting USC-Aiken.
Purdie connected on 4 of 8 shots from the field and was perfect from 3-point range (1-1) and at the foulline (4-4). The 5-9 freshman also collected 2 rebounds and a steal.
The White Oak native canned a jumper with 8:38 left in the half to tie the game 14-14 then turned a J. R. Washington assist into a lay-up and a 16-14 Lander lead.
Purdie made a pair of free throws with 3:02 left in the first half to stretch the Bearcat lead to 32-25. Lander led 35-31 at halftime.
After the Pacers trimmed the Lander lead to 43-41, Purdie nailed a jump shot for a 45-41 lead. USC-Aiken hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 45-44, but Purdie answered with a 3-pointer then sank 2 foul shots for a 50-44 Bearcat lead with 12:32 left to play.
Lander improved to 12-4 overall and remained atop the Peach Belt Conference’s East Division with a 6-1 league mark. The Bearcats will host Montevallo Saturday in another PBC contest. Game time is 3:30 p.m.
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