GREENWOOD – The No. 18 Lander Bearcats never led until under five minutes left in the game but made several big shots down the stretch to beat Augusta 77-72, taking over sole possession of first place in the Peach Belt Conference.
With Wednesday's victory at Horne Arena, Lander improved to 20-5 overall and 12-3 in the PBC. North Georgia lost to Georgia Southwestern Wednesday and fell into a second-place tie with USC Aiken at 11-4.
The Bearcats own the tie-breaker over North Georgia, having beaten the Saints twice. Lander owns one victory over USC Aiken and concludes the regular season at Aiken on March 2 in a game which might decide the PBC regular season title.
The Jaguars saw their six-game winning streak end. They fell to 15-10 overall, 8-7 in the PBC.
The Bearcats did not lead until 4:37 left in the game.
Noah Dunn paced Lander with 19 points while Connor McKay scored 13 points.
Phillip Burwell added 12 points while leading the Bearcats with four assists. His big basket with 24 seconds left all but clinched the victory.
Jacob Cooper also scored 12 points for Lander. Nigel Colvin added eight points while leading the Bearcats with 10 rebounds.
Demitri Gardner paced Augusta with 26 points. Ja'Queze Kirby scored 12 points for the Jaguars, David Viti and John St. Germain III added 11 points apiece, and Max Amadasun contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Bearcats were down 10-0 before Dominic Stanford finally put them on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer from the right corner, making it 10-3 with 16:54 left in the first half.
Dunn made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a step-back jumper from behind the free-throw line as Lander matched Augusta's 10 unanswered points, tying the game at 10-all with 13:57 to go.
Kirby made his second and third 3-pointers as the Jaguars moved back ahead 18-10.
Colvin's 3-pointer from the left wing pulled the Bearcats within 18-15 at the 11-minute mark. But Augusta pushed its lead back into double digits, 31-20, with 6:28 left on Gardner's basket.
Dunn made a trey from the top of the key, McKay switched hands in the lane and made a left-handed shot, and Burwell swished a floater pulling the Blue and Gold within 31-27 at the 4:40 mark.
Viti made two 3-pointers and Gardner another as the Jaguars regained their 11-point lead at 42-31 with 2:07 to go.
Lander closed the first half with some needed momentum. Colvin dove on the floor for a loose ball and pitched it to McKay, who drove for a breakaway two-handed dunk. Burwell drove the baseline for a contested layup with 10 seconds left as the Bearcats were within 42-36 at the break.
Inady Legiste scored three times early in the second half, on a transition layup off a pass from Tommy Moore, a driving layup, and a put-back helping Lander pull within 47-46 with 15:28 left in the game.
Colvin's three-point play tied the game at 51-apiece with 13 minutes to go.
Down 53-52, the Bearcats twice had possessions where they could take the lead but missed shots each time. Cooper drove past his defender to pull Lander within 56-54 with 10:37 left.
McKay cut inside from the left corner and took an interior pass from Burwell for a layup as the Bearcats were again within a possession at 61-58 with 8:21 to go. But Gardner's trey pushed Augusta's lead back to six. A lead seemed elusive for Lander. But that would change.
Dunn made two free throws, Cooper turned a steal into a layup, and Dunn hit a step-back jumper as Lander pulled into a 65-all deadlock with 5:18 left.
With 4:37 to go, the Bearcats took their first lead at 67-65 when Colvin made two free throws, completing an 8-0 run.
Augusta's Kirby hit a game-tying baseline jumper. But Dunn put Lander back on top with a long step-back jumper with a hand in his face, making it 69-67 at the four-minute mark.
Cooper made two free throws and Dunn hit one of two as the Bearcats led 72-67 with 2:53 left.
Gardner made a long jumper for the Jaguars, but McKay answered with two free throws giving the Blue and Gold a 74-69 lead at the 2:23 mark.
St. Germain's two free throws cut Augusta's deficit to 74-71 with 53 seconds to go.
Lander wound the shot clock down and Burwell drove toward the basket, stopped in the middle of the lane and hit a jumper giving the hosts a 76-71 advantage with 24 seconds left.
Burwell added a free throw with four seconds to go for the final 77-72 margin of victory.
