GREENWOOD – Mark Matthews, Christian Nobles and Henry Bolton III scored a combined 68 points as USC Aiken rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to spoil Lander's Homecoming 87-81 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

The Bearcats fell to 10-14 overall and 7-8 in the Peach Belt Conference. But Lander still has a firm hold on fourth place in the PBC East and a likely conference tournament berth as fifth place Armstrong State fell to 5-11.

The Pacers improved to 17-7 overall, 11-6 in the Peach Belt. Augusta (12-5), UNC Pembroke (11-5) and Aiken are the top three teams in the Eastern Division, followed by the Bearcats in fourth. The top four teams in the East and West divisions qualify for the PBC Conference Tournament.

Lander, playing in front of more than 1,300 fans Saturday, lost for only the second time in its last seven games.

The Bearcats lead the overall series against USC Aiken 48-41. Lander has scored at least 80 points in five of its last seven games, going 3-2 in those contests.

JR Washington led the Bearcats with 20 points. The senior currently sits in third place on Lander's all-time scoring list with 1,742 career points and is 92 points away from tying Clinton Cobb for second place. Washington has also scored in double figures in each of his last 60 games.

Jarryd Coleman scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half for Lander, hitting six of 10 shots from the floor including four of seven from behind the 3-point line. Telvin Gabriel added eight points while leading the Bearcats with seven rebounds, and Rahu Purdie paced Lander with six assists.

Aiken's Matthews scored 25 points to lead all scorers. He made 10 of 15 shots from the floor including five of nine from behind the arc, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just under one minute left Saturday.

Nobles added 22 points for the Pacers, hitting six of nine shots from the floor and eight of 10 free throws. Bolton was Aiken's third 20-points plus scorer, contributing 21 points on nine of 16 shooting.

Robert Hill and Kevin Chuisseu led the Pacers with five rebounds apiece. Nobles and Paris Ballinger paced them with four assists each.

Srdjan Ivic hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play while Washington scored twice as Lander built leads of 8-0 and 15-5. Matthews made a 3 that pulled the Pacers within 17-16 at the 9:14 mark.

Robert Hill's put-back kept Aiken within a possession at 30-28 with 4:54 to go. But Coleman's 3 from the top of the key pushed the Bearcat lead to 35-28, and Washington's 3 from the left corner off Chris Tate's blocked shot made it 38-31 with 2:23 left.

Coleman's floater off the glass in the final seconds gave Lander a 42-33 halftime lead.

Purdie found TJ Knight under the basket for a layup, increasing the Bearcats advantage to 49-37 with 16:36 to go.

After the Pacers pulled within nine, Coleman hit a 3 from the right side in front of the Lander bench and Jordan Dingle made a floater in the paint to extend the lead to 54-40 with 13:46 left.

Purdie's long 3 from the top of the key upped the Bearcat lead to 64-49 with 10:18 to go, and Washington's trey made it 67-53 with 9:16 left.

Nobles converted a three-point play and scored again inside, rallying Aiken within 71-66 with 5:38 remaining. But Tate stole a pass and drove down the floor, scoring on a finger roll to extend Lander's lead to 75-66 with 4:45 to go.

Bolton's jumper closed the Pacers within 75-70 with 3:28 left while Matthews swished a 3 from the right side, cutting the deficit to 77-73 at the 3:06 mark. Bolton's three-point play pulled Aiken within a possession at 79-76 with 2:30 left.

Ballinger's shot high off the glass dropped in, cutting it to 79-78 with 1:50 to go. Then Matthews made a layup giving the Pacers their first lead of the game at 80-79 with 1:28 left.

Tate drove the baseline and scored to put Lander back on top at 81-80 with 1:10 left. But Matthews drained a 3 from the right corner, giving Aiken the lead back at 83-81 with 58 seconds to go.

After Lander missed a shot, the Bearcats fouled Hill with 39 seconds left and he missed both free throws. With a chance to tie or take the lead, Purdie found Knight under the basket but Knight's layup would not fall and Bolton grabbed the defensive rebound.

Aiken's Nobles and Faison Brock hit two free throws apiece to clinch the win.