COLUMBUS, Ga. – On Oct. 30, 2015, the Peach Belt Conference coaches poll was announced and the Lander Bearcats were picked to finish 12th out of 14 teams. A little more than four months later, after leading the PBC East Division wire-to-wire, Lander was cutting down the nets as PBC Tournament champions.

The Bearcats earned an automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, outlasting Augusta University 87-86 on JR Washington's dramatic put-back with two seconds left in double overtime Sunday afternoon.

The victory at the Frank G. Lumpkin Center gave the school its first Peach Belt Tournament championship since 2007.

Lander, which also won the Peach Belt in 1994 and '95, enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-9 record under first-year head coach Steve Roberts.

Peach Belt East runner-up Augusta fell to 18-11, likely ending its season.

Washington won Tournament MVP and Lander freshman Rahu Purdie made the all-tournament team.

Purdie led the Bearcats with a career-high 24 points on eight of 10 shooting from the floor. Washington added a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds along with five steals. But he was only 6-for-19 from the floor and 3-for-10 from 3-point range, making his game-winning shot all the sweeter.

Tobiasz Hose also had 20 points for Lander while Travis Fredimon added 13 points and five assists.

Keshun Sherrill paced Augusta with 27 points, and Tommy Williams had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds as he made 12 of 14 free throws, most of them late in the game. Travis Foreman added 10 points for the Jaguars.

Lander made 27 of 63 shots (43 percent) from the floor, nine of 18 from behind the arc (50 percent) and 24 of 33 free throws (73 percent) while being outrebounded 45-35.

Augusta made 27 of 61 shots (44 percent), eight of 22 from 3-point range (36 percent) and 24 of 37 from the stripe (63 percent).

Hose's basket gave Lander an 81-78 lead with 3:24 left in the second overtime. But Sherrill made a 3, tying the game at 81-all at the 3:03 mark. Sherrill hit one of two free throws, giving the Jaguars the lead with 2:32 to go.

Telvin Gabriel's dunk off a pass from Hose – his first points of the game – put the Bearcats back on top. Gabriel was fouled and missed the free throw, but Washington was fouled on the rebound and made two free throws for an 85-82 lead with 2:18 left.

Williams made a pair of free throws to pull the Jaguars within 85-84 with 1:50 left.

A series of turnovers left Augusta with a chance to take the lead with 55 seconds to go. Sherrill drew a foul and made one of two free throws for an 85-all tie with 42 seconds left.

The Bearcats committed another turnover and Sherrill was fouled again with 11 seconds left. He missed the first free throw but made the second, putting Augusta on top 86-85.

Lander drove up the court in hopes of hitting a game-winner. Hose got a shot off in the paint that bounced off the rim, and Washington grabbed the rebound and laid it in with two seconds left for an 87-86 lead.

Sherrill's desperation 3 at the buzzer hit high off the backboard as Lander players spilled onto the court to celebrate.

After Fields scored to pull Augusta within 10-9 with 13:30 left in the opening half, the Bearcats went on a 10-0 run. Hose hit a 3, Fredimon made a jumper, Purdie came off the bench and nailed a 3, and Hose added two free throws to give Lander a 20-9 lead at the 10:12 mark. Purdie's free throws increased the advantage to 24-11 with 8:13 to go.

Purdie scored five points in a row including two free throws and a three-point play, giving the Bearcats a 32-18 lead with 3:18 left.

Sherrill made two free throws with 11 seconds left and added a steal and driving layup at the buzzer, pulling the Jaguars within 33-25 at halftime.

Washington's layup off Scott Elder's steal increased Lander's lead to 36-25 in the opening minute of the second half. But Augusta scored nine unanswered points including Foreman's 3-pointer and layup, and two free throws and a layup by Williams to pull within 36-34 with 17:32 left.

After Hose's two free throws upped the Bearcats lead to 38-34, Sherrill nailed a 3 to close Augusta within 38-37. A put-back by Williams gave the Jaguars their first lead since the opening three minutes of the game at 39-38 with 15:03 to go.

Fredimon's 3 from the right wing put Lander back on top at 47-45 with 13:11 left. Elder's layup gave the Bearcats a 52-49 lead at the 9:09 mark.

Foreman's short baseline jumper pulled Augusta within 53-51 with eight minutes left. But Purdie responded with a 3 from the left wing, increasing Lander's lead to 56-51 with 7:36 remaining.

The Bearcats went another three minutes before scoring again when Hose made one of two free throws for a 57-53 lead with 4:22 left.

Sherrill's two free throws pulled the Jaguars into a 57-all tie with 3:20 left. Sherrill's jumper from the free-throw line put Augusta back on top 59-57 with 2:45 to go.

Washington missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:31 left, but Elder was fouled on the rebound and tied the game at 59-all with a pair of free throws.

After the Jaguars turned the ball over, Lander wound the shot clock down and Purdie scored as the clock ran out, putting the Bearcats on top 61-59 with 45 seconds to go. But Sherrill's 3 put Augusta back on top 62-61 with 30 seconds left.

Washington drew a foul and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 62-all with eight seconds remaining.

Sherrill drove almost the length of the court but committed an offensive foul as he slammed into a Bearcats defender, leaving Lander with a chance to win with four seconds to go.

Fredimon took an inbounds pass from Washington and drove just inside the 3-point arc but the ball was knocked out of his hands as time expired, putting the game into overtime.

The game was tied at 62-all at the end of regulation, and Lander's Washington and Augusta's Keith Crump exchanged 3s in the opening minute of overtime.

Hose's driving layup off a pass from Washington gave Lander a 68-65 lead with 3:35 to go and Washington's 3 upped the advantage to 71-67 with 2:20 left.

Purdie's acrobatic layup off a turnover gave the Bearcats a 73-67 lead just inside the two-minute mark.

But Williams made a layup and a pair of free throws, pulling the Jaguars within 73-71 with a minute left. Lander wound the shot clock down and Fredimon hit a clutch jumper for a 75-71 advantage with 31 seconds to go.

Williams made a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to close Augusta within 75-73, then the Bearcats turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass giving the Jaguars a chance to tie or take the lead. Crump missed a jump shot from the right side, but Williams laid the rebound in to tie at 75-all with eight seconds left.

Washington's long 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the front of the rim, sending the game into a second overtime.