Faison Chosen to PBC Preseason All-Conference Team
AUGUSTA, Ga. – University of South Carolina Aiken senior guard Byron Faison was selected to the five-member Peach Belt Conference preseason All-Conference team on Friday, Oct. 29.
The honor is the second of the preseason for the senior. Faison (Sumter, S.C./Crestwood) was named an Honorable Mention All-America selection by the Sporting News in September.
Faison concluded his first campaign in a Pacer uniform in the 2009-10 season averaging 12.7 points per game. Faison shot a lethal 46.1 percent from the floor last year. For his efforts, Faison was chosen to the PBC All-Conference second team.
Faison was also named the 2010 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player en route to helping to lead the Pacers to their first Peach Belt Conference Tournament crown since 1993.
Five different PBC institutions were represented on the preseason all-conference team as Francis Marion's Simel Boyd, Montevallo's Cecil Coleman, Flagler's D.J. Ferguson and Clayton State's Brandon Robinson joined Faison on the team as selected by the league's head coaches.
Faison and the 11th-ranked USC Aiken men's basketball team were chosen earlier this week as the league favorite in the 2010-11 Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll.
USC Aiken's pick as the preseason favorite marks the second time in the last three seasons that the Pacers have been hailed as the PBC league favorite. The preseason No. 1 nationally by the Sporting News in 2008-09, USC Aiken entered the 2008-09 campaign the choice of the league's head coaches in the PBC preseason poll.
The only Peach Belt Conference school ranked in the 2010 preseason top 25, USC Aiken was also tabbed as a possible breakthrough team in NCAA Division II by the 2010-11 Sporting News College Basketball Preview.
USC Aiken men's basketball program has won a school-record 72 games over the last three seasons. The 72 victories over the three-year span are the most in the Palmetto State among all levels of college basketball.
Under the guidance of Alexander, USC Aiken has become a national force in NCAA Division II over the past three seasons.
In addition to the victories, the 2007-08 USC Aiken men's basketball team won the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship and the 2008-09 Pacer men's basketball team advanced farther than any other squad in program history to the NCAA Division II "Sweet Sixteen." The 2009-10 USC Aiken men's basketball team claimed the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship.
USC Aiken will open its 2010-11 campaign with an exhibition against Southern Wesleyan at the Convocation Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11. The Pacers will be commencing their first action in a season for the second consecutive season against the Warriors. The Pacers downed Southern Wesleyan, 92-58, in an exhibition on Nov. 5, 2009 at the Convocation Center.
The Pacers will officially begin their 2010-11 regular season the next week against Voorhees at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The Pacers and Tigers will be tangling on the hardwood against one another for the 17th time with USC Aiken owning an 11-5 all-time series advantage. The two teams have not played since the 1991-92 season.
2010-11 Peach Belt Conference
Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Simel Boyd, Francis Marion
Cecil Coleman, Montevallo
Byron Faison, USC Aiken
D.J. Ferguson, Flagler
Brandon Robinson, Clayton State
