Box Score SPARTANBURG, S.C.--USC Aiken fell to USC Spartanburg today, 62-41, in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game in Spartanburg, S.C. The 41 points scored by USCA broke the previous team record for fewest points in a game, 47 against USC Spartanburg on February 25, 1995. Just nine players suited up for the Pacers and only eight saw action in the game. With the loss, USC Aiken set a new school record with seven defeats in a row.
USC Aiken dropped to 2-13 on the season and 1-6 in the Peach Belt Conference. The Rifles improved to 9-5 and evened their conference record at 3-3.
The Pacers built a six point lead midway through the first half.
Bryant Latimer (Columbia, S.C.) gave USCA their first lead of the game, 12-9, with a three-pointer at the 13:31 mark. Another trey, this time from
Leroy Williams (High Springs, Fla.), extended the Pacer lead to six, 17-11, with 11:48 left in the first half. After C.J. Paul got the Rifles within four,
Latimer hit another bucket to give USCA their second six-point lead, 19-13, with 10:02 remaining.
USC Aiken would hit just one more basket the remainder of the half as USC Spartanburg closed out the first stanza on a 14-2 run. Eric Murrell began the run with two straight three-pointers to tie the game, 19-19, with 8:10 left in the first. Murrell had all 10 of his first-half points during the run. He finished the day with a game-high 18 points on six-of-eight shooting from the floor and four-of-four from the free-throw line.
Minda Statkus (Mazeikai, Lithuania) cut the Rifle lead to four points, 25-21, but Murrell's lay-up with 47 seconds left in the half gave USCS a 27-21 halftime edge.
USC Spartanburg continued their run in the second half. The two teams alternated scoring for the first three minutes before the Rifles scored eight straight points to build a 16-point lead, 40-24, with 12:58 left in the game.
A
Statkus free throw with 12:39 remaining ended a streak in which the Pacers scored just five points in 18:41, dating back to the 10:02 mark in the first half. By the time USC Aiken put together successive baskets, the Rifles had a 37-8 run and their largest lead of the game, 23 points, 50-27, with 9:18 on the clock.
A jumper by
Latimer and a lay-up by Statkus, followed by a three-pointer by
Williams cut the USCS lead to 16 points, 50-34, with 5:05 remaining in the game. A trey by
Latimer and another lay-up by
Statkus ended a 14-4 Pacer run and put USCA within 13 points, 54-41, with 3:13 to go.
Latimer missed on a three-point attempt that would have cut the USC Spartanburg lead to 10. The junior transfer from Winthrop University finished with a team-high 15 points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals.
After
Latimer's three-point attempt, the Rifles scored the final seven points of the game and picked up a 62-41 win.
The Pacers shot just 34.7 percent (17-for-49) for the game, while USC Spartanburg hit on 52.4 percent (22-for-42) of their shots. USCA lost the rebounding battle, 30-26, but forced 23 Rifle turnovers while committing 21 of their own.
Statkushad a game-high seven rebounds to go along with 11 points and four steals.
Kevin Harrington, who entered the game averaging a team-high 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, scored 13 points and grabbed six boards. He also added four blocks and one steal.
Five players were unavailable for USC Aiken, including two starters.
Lee Burton, the team's leading scorer with an average of 13.9 points per game, could not play because of sickness.
Russell Harbin was unavailable because of an injury.
Eric Dugans and
Mitch Lewis were suspended for a violation of team rules and
B.J. Ivey has left the team.
USC Aiken will return to "The Courthouse" for a Wednesday game against Kennesaw State University. The Owls defeated the Pacers, 67-50 on December 14, 2002, in Kennesaw, Ga. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
SCORING:
USC Spartanburg (62): Harrington 13, Diebel 8, Tsampas 3, Paul 4, Blair 8, Murrell 18, Fluker 4, Jenkins 2, O'Neal 2
USC Aiken (41): Statkus 11,
Leroy Williams 9, Latimer 15,
Todd Williams 4, Watson 2
