Lander Men's Basketball Signs Three

Lander men’s basketball coach Bruce Evans, who led the Bearcats to the NCAA Division II national tournament last year, has announced the signing of three players for the 2007-08 season.

The signees are: Travis Allison, a 6-2, freshman guard from Lilburn, Ga.; Ford Lawrence, a 5-10, senior guard from Shelby, N.C.; and Justin Mann, a 6-10, sophomore center from Bartonville, Ill.

Allison, who played for for Coach Tim Watkins at Parkview High School, led Parkview to a 20-10 record last season and an appearance in the Class 5-A Sweet Sixteen. He averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game and connected on 83 three-point shots. A three-year letterman, he was named first-team All-Gwinnett County and was voted second-team all-region.

Lawrence transferred to Lander after playing three seasons and graduating from UNC Pembroke. During the 2005-06 season, he averaged 7.0 points, 5.13 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 79 percent from the free throw line. Following the 2004-05 season he was voted UNCP’s top defensive player and the most improved player. He was named to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll in 2005 and 2006. A graduate of Shelby High School, where he played for Coach Ken Napier, Ford was the team MVP his senior year and led Shelby in assists, steals , three-point field goal percentage, and free throw percentage.

Mann transferred to Lander from Kishwaukke Community College in Malta, Ill. where he played for Coach Rob Buss. At Kishwaukee, he averaged 10 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He attended high school at both Limestone High in Bartonville, Ill., and Pekin High in Pekin, Ill.

Lander, which finished the 2006-07 season with a 20-11 record, won the Peach Belt Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA South Atlantic Regional tournament.