GREENWOOD - The North Georgia College & State University men's basketball team shot 57 percent from the field and placed four players in double figures Saturday afternoon en route to a 79-65 Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander in Horne Arena.

North Georgia improves to 8-6 overall and 3-1 in the PBC, while Lander slips to 6-9, 1-6. Lander will host Armstrong Atlantic State at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday in Horne Arena.

Michael Moynihan scored a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws for the Saints and dished off seven assists to lead NGC&SU. Bernard Rimmer added 15 points and six rebounds, Carl Taylor 13 points, and Andrew Bennett 12 points and five rebounds.

Dane Sparrow led Lander with 15 points and three assists, while Brenton Harris had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Greg Smalls 11 points and five assists.

North Georgia jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 90 seconds of the game, only to have Lander battle back to 6-5 on a Sparrow three pointer and Harris dunk. The Saints went on a 10-0 run to take an 16-5 lead on Rimmer's three pointer with 14:15 left in the half.

Sparrow's three pointer cut the lead to 16-8 at 13:55, but the Saints gradually stretched their lead to 37-18 (19 points) with 5:09 left in the half on a pair of Michael Moynihan free throws. Lander cut the margin to 42-32 at halftime on Tovi Bailey's free throw with 34 seconds left.

Lander opened the second half with a 15-9 run to trim the Saints' lead to 53-47 with 13:58 left on a Curtis Milner jumper. Harris' jumper at 10:52 cut NGC&SU's lead to 58-53, but that is as close as Lander would get the rest of the game.

Bennett's dunk at 5:33 capped the Saints' 12-1 run and gave them a 70-54 lead with 5:33 remaining.

NGC&SU, which led 42-32 at halftime, connected on 31-of-54 field goals for 57.4 percent, including 5-of-9 three pointers (55.6 percent). The Saints made 12-of-26 free throws for 75 percent.

Lander made 25-of-58 floor shots (43.1 percent), including 6-of-17 three pointers (35.3 percent). The Bearcats sank 9-of-18 foul shots for 50 percent.