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YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | J.B. Charles scored 20 points to lead Young Harris College past Lander University 88-69 in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Monday (Feb. 20) evening at the YHC Basketball Arena.

The game was a makeup for the contest that was snowed out earlier in January.

The Mountain Lions improved to 16-11 overall and to 10-8 in the PBC West Division after posting their third consecutive win. The victory also pushed Young Harris into a three-way tie for third place with only Wednesday's (Feb. 22) 7:30 p.m. Purple Out/Battle of Blood Mountain PBC home game with the University of North Georgia remaining to be played. It could be a wild finish to the league schedule as there is a potential five-way tie for first place in the division. The Mountain Lions can finish anywhere between first and fifth place depending on what happens on the final day of the regular season. Only the top four teams in each division advance to the conference tournament which begins Saturday (Feb. 25) at campus sites.

The Mountain Lions spotted the Bearcats the first four points of the game before the Mountain Lions scored the next 20 points over the next almost nine minutes to take a 20-4 lead on a C.J. Wilson three-pointer with 10:00 remaining in the first half. Lander missed 13 consecutive field goals during the run and turned the ball four other times. Charles had seven of his points during the spurt, while Ben Waterhouse added six.

Lander got it as close as 10 points (24-14) in the first half, before Young Harris expanded it back to 17 points (36-19) on a Marcellus Roberts layup with 2:05 to go. Young Harris, which shot 60.8 percent (31-51) from the floor, limited the Bearcats to just 26.7 percent (8-of-30) shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The Bearcats again got within 10 points three occasions in the second half, the last coming (50-40) after Chris Tate hit two free throws with 14:56 left. The Mountain Lions responded with a 16-5 run over the next three minutes to open up a 21-point cushion (66-45) on a old-fashioned three-point play from Corey Nelson with 10:48 to play. 

Charles accounted for his 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Wilson finished with 19 points and eight assists, while Waterhouse ended with 14 points. Bjorn Walker also finished in double figures with 14 points. 

Tate led the Bearcats with 17 points, while Rahu Purdie added 14 more.