GREENWOOD – Nicklas Jonsson scored 22 points as the hot-shooting Lander Bearcats posted six players in double figures and outlasted Peach Belt Conference rival Young Harris College 107-97 Thursday night in one of the highest-scoring games ever at Horne Arena.

Lander won its third consecutive game for the first time this season and fourth of its last five.

The Bearcats improved to 11-14 overall and moved into a three-way tie for eighth place (with Columbus State and Georgia College) in the PBC at 7-12. The top eight teams qualify for the PBC Tournament.

The Mountain Lions fell to 7-18, 6-13.

"We're playing with momentum," said head coach Steve Roberts. "Tonight was another game where our guys grew a lot. It was great to to see Nick come out and shoot the ball well."

Lander shot over 50 percent from the field, from the free-throw line and from 3-point range for the third consecutive game.

The Bearcats are 9-0 this season when scoring 80 points or more.

Lander made 12 of its first 15 attempts from behind the arc and hit 23 of 34 shots in the first half (68 percent).

Overall, the Bearcats made 39 of 66 shots from the floor (59 percent) and 12 of 23 from 3-point range (52 percent).

Jonsson scored his 22 points on nine of 15 shooting. It was his third-highest career scoring game.

Jordan Dingle scored 17 points for Lander on six of eight shooting. Rahu Purdie also scored 17 points while leading the Bearcats with six assists.

Sergio Smith scored 16 points for Lander, making seven of eight shots. Srdjan Ivic also scored 16 points, hitting all 10 of his free throws while leading the Bearcats with four steals.

Sidney Robinson added 14 points for Lander.

Young Harris had five players in double figures, led by J.B. Charles with a game-high 23 points.

Ben Waterhouse added 18 points for the Mountain Lions, Greg Murphy scored 14, Nicksen Blanc 13 and Zion Williams 10. Corey Nelson added nine points while Antonio Wade contributed eight points while leading Young Harris with seven assists. Blanc led the visitors with six boards.

Smith made four layups during a stretch of five possessions while Dingle added a 3-pointer from the right side, staking Lander to an early 13-3 lead.

Jonsson swished consecutive 3s from each side of the court, upping the Bearcat advantage to 24-12 with just over 14 minutes until halftime.

Charles converted a three-point play after a layup off a nice pass from Murphy, cutting the Young Harris deficit to 26-20 inside the 10-minute mark.

Leading 28-22, Lander went on an impressive 13-4 run. Purdie nailed a fade-away 3, Robinson swished a 3 from the top of the key, Purdie made a reverse layup off a back-door pass from Ivic, Smith hit a layup off an interior pass from Ivic, and Jonsson knocked down a transition 3 from the left side off a Robinson pass, making it 41-26 with 5:15 left.

Ivic was rewarded for his passing, making two baskets in the paint for a 45-30 lead with 3:13 to go. Then Ivic went back to his assists role, bouncing a short pass to Smith for a layup and 49-34 advantage at 1:10.

Purdie worked around a screen and nailed a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the half, giving the Bearcats a 54-40 advantage at the break.

Smith's baseline jumper gave the Bearcats a 62-47 lead with 16:42 to go and Jonsson's 3 from the right corner made it 65-51 with 15:18 left.

Dingle's 3 from the left corner upped the lead to 68-53 with 14:40 left, making Lander 12 of 15 from behind the arc to that point.

Murphy made his second 3 in three possessions while Wade added a driving layup and a 3, cutting the Mountain Lion deficit back into single digits at 72-66 with 11:19 to go.

Waterhouse's layup made it 74-70 at the 10-minute mark and Blanc's three-point play cut it to 74-73 at 9:20 as the Mountain Lions were on an 18-4 run.

Ivic nailed four of four free throws and Jonsson made a layup off a fast-break pass from Robinson, increasing Lander's lead back to 80-73. Robinson answered a pair of Young Harris baskets with a 3 from the left corner, making it 84-78 with 7:06 left.

Ivic drove to the basket for a layup as the Bearcats were back up double figures at 89-78 just inside the six-minute mark.

Robinson rebounded a teammate's missed 3-point shot and drove in for a score, and then split two defenders with a crossover and layup giving Lander a 94-80 lead with 3:56 left.

But Young Harris kept answering as Williams made a put-back, was fouled and converted a three-point play to close within 98-92 with 1:27 to go.

Dingle made one of two free throws and after a Mountain Lions miss, the Bearcats ran the shot clock down with Dingle passing to Robinson for a layup as the clock was about to expire and it was 101-92 with 34 seconds left.