ANDERSON, S.C. – The Lander Bearcats are headed to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history after an elite performance in the Southeast Region championship game.

Lander trailed early but used an astonishing 53-21 run to take control, beating Lenoir-Rhyne 86-62 Tuesday night in the Sweet Sixteen contest at the Abney Athletic Center on the campus of Anderson University.

It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Bearcats (28-5).

It is Lander's first Elite Eight appearance since the 1998-99 season when they were known as the Senators. Lander lost a heartbreaker to eventual '98-99 national champion Kentucky Wesleyan in Louisville, Ky.

These current Bearcats will next step foot on a court in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals beginning March 25 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on the campus of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

A large contingent of Lander fans mauled the players on the court after the final buzzer. The Bearcats hoisted the Southeast Region championship trophy, taking a team photo with Queen's "We are the Champions" blaring in the arena, and completed the traditional cutting of the nets.

"Obviously, I'm elated," Lander head coach Omar Wattad said. "Our guys fought through what I believe is arguably the toughest Region in the nation and played a phenomenal opponent in Lenoir-Rhyne. I didn't sleep much the last two nights watching their (LR) offense. They are extremely talented. We played extremely well. I feel lucky and blessed.

"I couldn't be more proud of these guys," Wattad added. "We just did what I think in the hardest thing to do in college basketball which is to win the (Peach Belt) conference regular season championship, win the conference tournament and then win the Regional tournament. And the Bearcats are going to Pittsburgh."

It was a team effort Tuesday as Lander had five double-figure scorers.

Dylan Canoville stood out for the Bearcats, leading all scorers with 20 points on eight of 11 shooting from the floor including six dunks. The senior forward had seven rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot against an opponent standing 7-foot-2.

Greyson Pritzl got hot in the second half, finishing with 19 points for Lander and securing Southeast Region Most Valuable Player. The junior guard scored 61 points in the three Southeast Region games.

Jacob Daniels had another solid all-around game for the Bearcats as the freshman guard finished with 17 points on eight of 13 shooting, nine rebounds and five assists.

Daniels and Canoville joined Pritzl on the All-Tournament team.

Tommy Moore added 12 points for Lander on five of seven shooting. Antewan Webber Jr. scored 10 points for the Blue and Gold.

The Bearcats held Lenoir-Rhyne under 30 percent shooting.

"We have multiple guys that can chase around their shooters," Wattad said. "Our guys were locked in. Don't let their shooters breathe. You can put a game plan together, but if you don't have really good basketball players, it's not going to work. The guys took away the three (3-pointer) and didn't let their PG (point guard) create and I think we did that effectively."

Wattad added, "We have a very deep team. A lot of guys stepped up in different moments during the entire tournament. Each game presents a different set of challenges. I think we attacked each game in the proper fashion. Yes, today was the exclamation point. Our guys were outstanding across the board. I don't think we're done yet. We've got to stay focused."

Pritzl rode a big second half to the tournament MVP.

"In the locker room (at halftime), my teammates told me to keep shooting," Pritzl said. "They all had belief in me. Tommy Moore found me on the wing early in the second half and I hit it. I just had to see one go in and keep cooking from there."

Canoville dominated not only on offense but defensively.

"It's really just instinct," Canoville said. "I have been playing basketball since I was six years old. Tonight was insane. I want to stay in the moment. I'm trying my best not to cry. I have the best teammates in the world. One through 15, they help me with everything. Coach O saw me in the portal (from Jackson State) and he believed in me."

The Bearcats faced a major uphill climb in the first half, trailing 19-10 with 14:23 left. But it was a mountain they were able to ascend quickly as they used a 27-8 run to build a double-digit lead.

Canoville started the run by dunking a missed shot from Daniels. And Canoville dunked again on a lob pass from Daniels. Then Daniels sidestepped a defender and hit a short-range shot in the paint, followed by Jake Tringone's 3-pointer cutting Lander's deficit to 21-20.

Canoville put back his own miss to tie the game at 22-all and then Daniels drove around the defense for a layup to give the Bearcats a 24-22 advantage at the eight-minute mark.

Webber continued the rally with a 3-pointer, Pritzl made a layup off an interior pass from Tringone, Daniels scored again in the paint, and Moore added a layup off a backdoor pass from Pritzl.

Moore struck again when he hit a 3-pointer from the right corner. Canoville's free throw gave Lander a 37-27 lead with 1:15 left in the first half.

Canoville punctuated a great first half from both ends of the floor when he blocked 7-foot-2 Conrad Luczynski's shot from behind in the final seconds. He also had four steals in the first half.

The Bearcats led 37-29 at halftime.

Lander's domination continued to grow into the second half. Pritzl made a 3-pointer and Daniels swished a floater in the lane as the Blue and Gold led 48-34 at the 16-minute mark.

The Bearcats took their largest lead of the game at 57-40 with 11:33 left when Pritzl took a long inbounds pass from Daniels at the top of the key and drained yet another 3-pointer.

And the lead grew to 20 when Tringone nailed a 3-pointer from the right side as Lander led 60-40. Webber added a layup to cap an 11-0 run making the score 63-40.

The Bears (26-9) made a slight run to pull within 63-46.

But Lander's domination resumed as Canoville drove through traffic for a thunderous dunk, Webber took a long inbounds baseball pass from Daniels and dunked, Pritzl made a step-back 3-pointer, Daniels converted a driving layup, and Webber made a trey as the lead was 75-51 at the six-minute mark.

Moore added a 3-pointer and then Canoville took over. The next three Lander scores were Canoville dunks. His first dunk was wide open and the next two were lob passes from Pritzl.

The Bearcats reserves entered the game with 1:22 left as the starters left the court to a thunderous ovation and victory hugs on the bench.

"Whoever we play (in the Elite Eight) is going to be battle-tested and really, really good," Wattad said. "We are going to have to be ready to go, regardless of the opponent."