Pacers Storm Into Semifinals of PBC Tournament With 80-59 Victory Over Patriots
AIKEN, S.C. - The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team stormed out of the gates to claim a dominating 80-59 victory over Francis Marion in the Quarterfinals of the 2009-10 Peach Belt Conference Championship Tournament on Wednesday night in the Convocation Center.
The Pacers will now take on PBC rival Clayton State in the Semifinals of the PBC Tournament on Saturday, March 6 in the USC Aiken Convocation Center at 8 p.m.
Byron Faison gave USC Aiken its first lead of the game just under five minutes into regulation and the Pacers would never trail the rest of the way en route to the 21-point win.
USC Aiken shot 59 percent and ripped 12 steals in the first half to lead at halftime, 44-16.
Faison (Sumter, S.C./Crestwood HS), USC Aiken's leading scorer on the season, scored a game-high 20 points including four three-pointers on a night in which the Pacers shot 58 percent from their home floor.
Freshman sensation Re'mon Nelson (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester HS) wreaked havoc on the Patriot backcourt all night scoring 14 points, handing out five assists, grabbing four rebounds and ripping five steals from the FMU offense.
The Pacers guards dominance of the backcourt was matched in the frontcourt by a quartet of Pacer big men who refused to relinquish control of the paint to the Patriots.
Senior captain Seth Leonard (York, Pa./William-Penn HS) finished with nine points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists while fellow senior Jores Dongo (Gabon, Africa/ Mercer County CC) finished his first start of the season with six points and two rebounds.
Rashad Flowers (Charleston, S.C./Garrett Academy) grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, scored four points, tallied three blocks and swiped a steal as fellow big man Kevin Willis (Atlanta, Ga./Kaskaskia College) capped the night with nine points, four rebounds and three steals, bringing USC Aiken's pilfer total to 15 steals.
The Pacers showdown on Saturday night with the Lakers of Clayton State will be a rematch of the 2007-08 PBC Tournament Championship game, which Clayton State won in triple overtime.
