GREENWOOD – Georgia Regents University shot 60 percent from the floor and broke open a close game in the second half, beating the Lander Bearcats 80-63 in Peach Belt Conference action Wednesday night at Horne Arena.

Lander fell to 15-10 overall and 9-7 in the Peach Belt. The Jaguars are 21-4, 14-2.

Ryan Weems led five double-figure scorers with 19 points for Georgia Regents. Devonte Thomas scored 14 points, Keshun Sherrill had 12 points and seven assists, Harold Doby scored 11 points and led the Jaguars with six rebounds, and KJ Sherrill added 10 points.

JR Washington had a great game in a losing effort for the Bearcats, hitting seven of nine shots including five of six 3-point attempts for 19 points. Darius Carrier added 10 points on four or five shooting. Alen Hardy was Lander's top rebounder with five.

Lander was playing its third game in five days.

GRU shot 67 percent in the second half, extending a 37-35 lead with 18 minutes left to a 20-point advantage at the seven-minute mark.

Georgia Regents was shooting 65 percent well into the second half and wound up 31 of 52 (60 percent) from the floor. The Jaguars made eight of 11 free throws (73 percent) and hit 10 of 20 from 3-point range (50 percent).

The Bearcats made 21 of 45 shots (47 percent), 14 of 21 free throws (67 percent) and seven of 17 from behind the arc (41 percent).

The Jaguars had a 26-23 rebounding edge.

Georgia Regents led most of the first half with the exception of a scoring spree by Washington that put Lander briefly ahead. With his team trailing 14-10, Washington hit a pair of 3s from the right corner and added a scoop shot in the lane as his personal 8-0 run gave the Bearcats an 18-14 lead with 10:16 left.

The Jaguars broke a 20-all tie with a 15-7 run, giving them their biggest lead of the first half at 35-27 just inside the one-minute mark, with Doby scoring six of the 15 points.

But Washington hit another 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half, pulling the Bearcats within 35-30 at the break.

Washington (14) and Carrier (8) scored 22 of Lander's 30 points in the first half, making a combined nine of 10 shots from the floor. The Bearcats shot 57 percent in the first half (12 of 21) but trailed at the break largely due to one of six shooting from the free-throw line.

Jareal Smith converted a three-point play and Michael Panaggio made a layup, pulling the Bearcats within 37-35 just inside the 18-minute mark.

But Georgia Regents quickly extended its lead as Keshun Sherrill hit a pair of 3s and another basket, igniting a 16-3 run to make it 53-38 with 13 minutes left.

Mike Lee made a pair of free throws, closing Lander within 56-46 at the 11-minute mark. But GRU matched its largest lead of the game at 15 on a Thomas layup, making it 62-47 with nine minutes to go.

Thomas hit a 3-pointer to give the Jaguars their biggest lead at 17 points, 65-48, with 8:08 left. The lead grew to 20 points, 70-50, on D'Angelo Boyce's fast-break layup with 7:11 to go.

Doby's three-point play with 3:27 left gave the Jaguars a 77-55 lead.