GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats fell short in their bid to clinch the Peach Belt Conference East Division championship, dropping their Homecoming game to league rival Augusta University 82-73 Saturday at Horne Arena.

Lander has already clinched at least a share of the East title, and stills lead Augusta by one game with one conference game left to play. The Bearcats fell to 18-9 overall, 12-6 in the PBC.

Lander can clinch the East with a victory over Georgia College at home on Wednesday.

The Jaguars improved to 15-10, 11-7. Augusta would need a win at USC Aiken Wednesday and a Bearcats loss to force a tie-breaker.

JR Washington paced Lander with 27 points, Tobiasz Hose scored 11 points, Sergio Smith added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Scott Elder had eight points.

Travis Fredimon led the Bearcats with five assists, Elder had four blocked shots, and Washington led the team with four steals.

Keshun Sherrill paced the Jaguars with 24 points and nine rebounds, Tommy Williams and Tamyrik Fields had 16 points apiece, and Keith Crump added nine points and six assists.

The Bearcats made 22 of 61 shots from the floor (36 percent), 22 of 33 free throws (67 percent) and seven of 24 from 3-point range (29 percent) while outrebounding Augusta 40-36.

The Jaguars made 27 of 57 shots (47 percent), 20 of 25 free throws (80 percent) and eight of 18 from behind the arc (44 percent).

Washington gave Lander leads of 10-8 on a 3-pointer with 15:22 left and 13-11 on a steal and layup at the 13:05 mark.

The Jaguars didn't trail again in the first half after Tyvez Monroe's 3 gave them a 14-13 lead just inside the 13-minute mark. But the game would be tied at 16, 18, 25, 29, 34 and the halftime score of 36-all.

Williams and Sherrill scored twice apiece as Augusta opened the second half with a 12-4 run for a 48-40 lead at the 16-minute mark.

Elder's offensive rebound basket and Hose's tomahawk dunk off an outlet pass from Fredimon brought Lander within 48-46 with 13:55 left.

But Augusta's eight-point lead was restored on Sherrill's 3, making it 55-47 with 12:27 to go.

Hose' three-point play pulled Lander within 61-57 with 8:12 left.

The Jaguars upped their lead to 65-58 when Fields made a jumper with 6:30 left, and Williams made a pair of free throws for a 67-60 advantage with 5:30 to go.

Hose's two free throws closed the Bearcats deficit to 70-65 with 3:56 left. But Williams made two more free throws for a 72-65 lead with 2:22 to go.

Washington's three-point play pulled Lander within 72-68 with 1:28 left. But Augusta wound the shot clock down and after Sherrill missed a long jumper, Fields grabbed the weak side offensive rebound and laid it in, pushing the Jaguars lead back to 74-68. Sherrill added two free throws, upping the lead to eight with 47 seconds left.

Washington's 3 closed the Bearcats within 77-73 with 22 seconds to go. But Fields hit two free throws, Deane Williams added one, and Sherrill dunked at the buzzer to end the scoring.