YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Five Young Harris College men's basketball players scored in double figures, including double doubles from J.B. Charles and Antonio Wade, as the Mountain Lions snapped a five-game losing streak with an 81-64 Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander University Thursday (Dec. 14) afternoon at the YHC Basketball Arena.

The Mountain Lions improved to 2-5 overall and to 1-1 inside the league, while the Bearcats fell to 4-5 and 0-3. It will be a quick turnaround for Young Harris as they host Palm Beach Atlantic University in a noon Education Day contest Friday (Dec. 15)..

Young Harris didn't look like a team that had been off the past 12 days for final exams at the start of the contest as they raced out to a 22-9 lead on a tip-in by James Laput with 12:10 remaining in the first half. Corey Nelson, who was making his first appearance for the Mountain Lions this season, had five points during the quick start, while Charles and Nicksen Blanc had four each.

However, as quick as their start was, Young Harris went the next five minutes and seven seconds without a basket, allowing the Bearcats to use a 16-1 run to take a 24-23 lead on a Sidney Robinson layup with 8:30 remaining in the half.

A Wade free throw a minute later tied the score at 24 before Charles broke the drought with a bucket with 7:03 to go to give the Mountain Lions the lead for good at 26-24. That basket was part of a 21-7 run by Young Harris to close out the first half as the Mountain Lions took a 45-31 lead into halftime. Ben Waterhouse had nine points, including a rare four-point play, during the decisive run, while Charles added six more.

"We did a really good job of preparing for this game," said Young Harris head coach Pete Herrmann. "We were able to cut our turnovers in half, we outrebounded them by nine (49-40), we kept the PBC leading team in free throw percentage off the free throw line and we held them to 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from the floor."

The Mountain Lions extended their lead in the second half to as many as 21 points (76-55) after a steal and layup by Wade with 4:08 to play.

Charles led YHC with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Wade had 11 points and 10 assists. Blanc almost had a double double of his own with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Nelson contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. Waterhouse added 14 points for the Mountain Lions in the win.

Rahu Purdie led the Bearcats with 14 points, while Robinson added 11. Sergio Smith pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.