GREENWOOD, S.C. – Flagler College trailed by 23 with just under four minutes to go and went on a 27-7 run to get the game down to one possession before finally falling to Lander University 87-82 in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Finis Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 17-7 overall and 9-7 in the Peach Belt. Flagler lost its third game in a row and fell to 9-14 overall and 4-12 in conference play.

The Bearcats led by as many as 19 in the first half before settling on a 42-27 lead at the half.

The lead grew to 23 (76-53) with 3:52 left in the game after a pair of free throws by JR Washington.

But Washington sent Flagler's Dennis Diaz to the line the next time down the court and he made both free throws which started a 27-7 avalanche by the Saints which culminated with a transition layup by Lydell Manigo with 51 seconds to go. In that span, Flagler made 7 of its 10 shots from the field and was 7 for 8 from the free throw line. The Bearcats committed five turnovers in the run.

However, the Bearcats made their free throws when it mattered the most. In the last 16 seconds they made 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to give them enough breathing room to escape.

Washington led all scorers with 23 points, 16 of which came in the second half. Ricardo Martin flirted with a triple-double as he finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Tobiasz Hose added 18 points and eight rebounds while Kiair Crouch tacked on 10 points, eight of which came from the free throw line.

Lander shot a sizzling 57.1% (32-56) from the field for the game and it made 58.6% (17-29) in the first half alone. The Bearcats out-rebounded the Saints 42-28 and out-scored them in the paint, 42-28.

Jerrell Oxendine led the Saints with 20 points, 16 coming in the second half. Matt Clark scored a season-high 19 points, 15 of those came in the second stanza. Diaz and Kessler Bell contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively. Manigo scored all 10 of his points in the second half. Keshaun Hamilton grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Flagler forced a season-high 19 turnovers, 14 of those in the second half, and scored 28 points in the game off of those Lander miscues.

Flagler plays host to the University of North Carolina Pembroke on Wednesday (Feb. 18) at 7:30 p.m. at Flagler Gymnasium.