GREENWOOD – The Lander men's basketball team placed six players in double figures including DaJuan Moorer's 21 points as the Bearcats beat Peach Belt Conference rival North Georgia 96-82 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 11-4 overall and 5-2 in the Peach Belt. The Nighthawks fell to 8-8, 3-5.

The Bearcats trailed 44-41 at halftime but outscored North Georgia 55-38 in the second half.

"We really harped on executing, getting the ball in our four's hands, and that will create offense for our outsides as well," said head coach Drew Richards. "They bought in to that. Now that we're buying into execution and handling the basketball, now we need to play both halves of defense and not just one."

Moorer made seven of 10 shots from the floor and seven of nine free throws while leading Lander with eight rebounds and four steals. Moorer scored 14 of his 21 in the second half.

Sidney Robinson added 13 points and four assists off the Bearcats bench, including 11 points in the second half. LaRaymond Spivery and Tyler Brevard scored 12 points apiece, Elijah Alston added 11 and Deon Berrien 10 for Lander.

North Georgia's Zezmon Steeple led all scorers with 24 points, making five of six shots from behind the arc. He also had five assists.

KJ Jenkins added 18 points and five assists for the Nighthawks. Zach Brown scored 15 points while Danell Snyers added 12 for North Georgia.

Lander out-rebounded the visitors 35-18.

Trailing 16-12, Alston hit a long 3 from the left side and teammate Justin Holliday made a put-back giving the Bearcats a 17-16 lead with 12:21 left in the opening half.

DeShundre Rucker's one-handed dunk off Robinson's steal gave Lander a 21-18 advantage at the 10-minute mark.

But the hot-shooting Nighthawks regained the lead and were up 29-24 just inside eight minutes left on a 3 by Snyers, making the team 12 of 17 from the floor (71 percent).

Steeple's 3 from the right side upped North Georgia's lead to 34-26 with 5:24 left. Jenkins made the sixth trey of the game for the Nighthawks, making it 39-31 with 2:36 to go.

The Bearcats regained the lead at 41-39 with 10 unanswered points. Moorer made a jump shot, Rankin nailed a 3, Rucker hit a pair of free throws, and Berrien knocked down a trey from the top of the key for the lead with 33 seconds left.

Steeple hit a floater from behind the arc at the buzzer, giving North Georgia a 44-41 lead at halftime.

Brevard's long 3 during a 12-0 run gave Lander its first lead of the second half at 48-47 with 15:38 to go.

Brevard scored twice more, Berrien hit a 3, and Rankin finished the 12-0 run with a dunk giving the Bearcats a 57-47 advantage with 13:16 left.

Robinson's step-back 3 from the top of the key gave Lander a 66-56 lead with 10:38 to go while Moorer's three-point play made it 71-58 at the 9:11 mark.

Steeple's long 3 from the top of the key cut North Georgia's deficit into single digits at 77-68 with 5:35 left.

Alston made a layup off a backdoor pass from Berrien as Lander extended its lead to 83-72 with 3:21 to go.

After the lead stayed between nine and 11 points over several possessions, Spivery hit a pair of free throws that gave Lander an 89-76 advantage with 1:34 left.

Alston's 3 from the left corner extended the Bearcat lead to 94-79 with 50 seconds to go.

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