AUGUSTA, Ga. -- No. 16-ranked Virginia Union survived a scrappy Lander squad, knocking off the No. 7-seeded Bearcats in overtime, 74-68, in the first round of the 2007 NCAA DII South Atlantic Regional at the George A. Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta, Ga.

The No. 2-seeded Panthers (22-5) move on to face No. 3 seed Clayton State on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. in the first semifinal matchup.

The two-time defending South Atlantic Region champions looked like they were going to pull away in the second half from the Bearcats (20-11) when a 10-0 run put the Panthers up, 36-26, with 12:41 remaining. But midway through the half, Lander scored on six straight possessions, capped by Emmanuel Hodrea's three-pointer with 6:30 left, cutting the score to 47-45.

The Bearcats would tie it on a Dane Sparrow three-pointer with 1:32 left, making it 57-all. Each team had one crack at the game-winning basket at the end of regulation, but Brad Byerson's shot in the paint was short with 12 seconds left for Virginia Union, then Jason Davis' three-point try for Lander hit the front of the rim as time expired. In overtime, the Panthers started the scoring on a Chris Greene three-pointer, putting Virginia Union up by three, 60-57, with 3:57 left. The Panthers then held on for the win by making 10-of-15 free throws in the extra frame.

The short-handed Bearcats - missing starters Scottie Smith and All-Peach Belt performer Jarred Jackson, who each went out with injuries in the PBC Tournament - went just 2-for-17 from the floor to open the game, but Lander forced nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes to keep them within striking distance at 10-7. A three-pointer for Steve Miller of Virginia Union pushed the lead to 13-7, then a tip-in from All-CIAA performer Chris Greene pushed the lead to eight.

A Jason Davis three gave Lander a 16-15 lead with 4:41 left in first half. The Panthers followed with an alley-oop dunk from Greg Thondique to retake the lead, 17-16. Jason Wansley then capped the half with a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give Virginia Union a 24-18 lead heading into intermission. Lander shot just 7-of-27 in the first half (25.9 percent) while Virginia Union shot just 33.3 percent (8-of-24).

LaKeith Blanks led a quartet of players in double figures for Virginia Union with 18 points, while All-CIAA star Brad Byerson chipped in a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Virginia Union also got double-doubles from Chris Greene (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Greg Thondique (10 points, 10 rebounds). Lander was led by Dane Sparrow's 18 points and Zach Evans' 13 points.

Virginia Union dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Bearcats 51-35.

The Panthers also enjoyed the advantage at the free throw line, going 27-of-38 from the line compared to 5-of-6 for Lander.

Lander made its first NCAA appearance since 1998-99, when it captured the South Atlantic Region championship, and now falls to 3-4 all-time in NCAA tournament play. Virginia Union is looking for its third straight South Atlantic Region championship after winning the 2004-05 NCAA DII National Championship and advancing to the finals in 2005-06 and has won the region tournament eight times. (BOX SCORE)

Quotes:

Virginia Union Head Coach Dave Robbins:
 "We were very lucky to win. We defensed them well in the first half, in the second half they started lighting it up. Its a shame two of their better players didn't play, I think that would have helped them tremendously. We got away from our game plan a little bit late in the game, but we still hung on to win."

"We needed to make them have to chase. The clock was their enemy and by us taking a quick shot or by them pressing us when we were holding the ball and letting them foul us...we needed to pass it and run more time off the clock."

"We executed a little better in the overtime."

"We got the shot we wanted with 10 seconds left."

"I think a lot of times in the first round of a regional, both teams are tying not to lose instead of trying to win. And it looked like had started doing that."

Virginia Union's Chris Greene:
 "I think at the beginning of the game we were rushing our shots and taking bad shots. Coach told me to get a little closer and back off. We were playing good defense, though, as long as we're playing good defense we're in the game. We just didn't take our time and run the offense."

Virginia Union's Brad Byerson:
 "We lost the (conference) championship and we aren't losing any more. We get on the boards, we win."

Lander Head Coach Bruce Evans:
 "I can't be more proud of our guys. I told them before the game started that for us to get to this point, to overcome the obstacles that we have...I don't think another team in this tournament had to do what we did in order to get here. We had guys tonight that were fouling out and we were still able to maintain and stay in the ball game. It showed the fortitude and the moxie of our guys. They gave when they had nothing else left to give and they gave when others couldn't give. And that's just a tesitmony to our guys."

Lander's Dane Sparrow:
 "Overtime, we knew we had a chance to win, since we fought back during regulation. So we were trying to build on the run we made at the end of the game and try to get a lead in overtime and win it. But it didn't work out."

On second-half comeback:
 "On the bench, Jarred (Jackson), he's kind of a role model for me, he just told me to keep shooting if I was open. So, I had a couple of open looks and after I hit the first one, I felt a rhythm coming and just continued to shoot."