Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken's men's basketball team lost to Columbus State University, 88-71, today at "The Courthouse" in Aiken, S.C.  Five players scored in double figures for the Cougars as CSU won its 20th straight game.  USCA's Bryant Latimer and Todd Williams each established new career highs with 24 and 23 points respectively.
Columbus State improved to 21-1 on the season and a perfect 13-0 in the Peach Belt Conference.  The Pacers dropped to 2-19 and 1-12 in the PBC.
Williams staked the Pacers to an early 2-0 lead with a jumper 48 seconds into the game.  Jed Bedford gave the lead, 4-2, to the Cougars with a lay-up at the 18:00 mark of the first half.  Eric Dugans followed with a three-pointer that started a 13-2 run for USC Aiken.  Latimer's jumper ended the run and put USCA out in front 15-6 with 14:47 left in the first.
Two three-pointers by Mitch Lewis midway through the half gave the Pacers their largest lead of the game, 13 points, 25-12, with 11:31 remaining before intermission.  USCA would hold a 13-point advantage on two more occasions in the second half.  Lewis connected on three-of-five three-pointers in the game and finished with 13 points.
A John Thomas jumper with 5:17 left began a 17-7 Columbus State run to end the half.  Cedric Howell cut the lead to five points, 39-34, with 2:56 on the clock, on a three-pointer.  Howell had nine of the Cougars'final 17 points of the half.  Deshawn Bowman's lay-up with 34 seconds remaining set the halftime score at 39-36.
Bedford's three-pointer with 18:59 on the clock in the second half continued the Cougar run and gave CSU its first lead since the 17:41 mark of the first half, 41-42.  Beford hit four three-point baskets in the first four minutes of the second stanza to lead a 23-5 Cougar run to start the second half.  Thomas' lay-up with 14:42 remaining in the game ended the run and gave CSU a 15-point advantage, 59-44.  Through the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second, Columbus State out-scored USC Aiken 40-12.
For the game Bedford hit six-of-17 shots from the field, including four-of-14 from behind the three-point arch to finish with a team-high 17 points.
Back-to-back alley-oops from Bowman to Thomas gave CSU its largest lead of the game, 17 points, 65-48, with 12:15 left to play.  Both players reached double figures for the Cougars, finishing with 10 and 16 points respectively.
Down by 17 points, the Pacers staged an 11-2 run to get back within eight points.  Latimer's two free throws with 9:21 on the clock ended the run and drew USCA to 67-59, but the Pacers would get no closer the rest of the way.  Latimer hit seven-of-15 shots from the field, four-of-eight from behind the arch and made all six of his free throws for a career high 24 points.  The junior also grabbed five rebounds and handed out five assists.
A Carmel Evans jumper put the Cougars back up by 16, 75-59, with 7:11 to play.  Evans came off the bench to score 14 points and grab eight rebounds for CSU.
A jumper by Williams cut the deficit to 10 points with 4:57 remaining.  Williams finished the night with a career best 23 points on nine-for-16 shooting from the field and five-for-seven from the charity stripe.  He also brought down a team-high six boards and blocked two shots.
Bowman put Columbus State back up by 16 with a trey at the 3:28 mark.  Joey Gunter's lay-up with 12 seconds to play gave the Cougars their second 17-point lead and set the final score at 88-71.
After shooting 60 percent (15-for-25) in the first half, the Pacers followed it up with 37.5 percent (nine-for-24) in the second half.  Columbus State hit 57.6 percent (19-for-33) in the second half and 53.1 percent for the game.
The USC Aiken loss, the Pacers 19th of the season, set a new school record.  The previous record was 18 by the 1994-95 team.
Next up for the Pacers will be a trip to Greenwood, S.C., on Wednesday for a PBC North Division match-up with Lander University.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
SCORING: 
Columbus State (88):  Jon Antonelli 9, Cedric Howell 14, John Thomas 16, Deshawn Bowman 10, Jed Bedford 17, Joey Gunter 2, Chris Conklin 2, Carmel Evans 14, Jack Tinkler 2, Kamar Zachery 2
USC Aiken (71):  Leroy Williams 3, Taurus Watson 2, Todd Williams 23, Bryant Latimer 24, Eric Dugans 3, Jamall Gray 3, Mitch Lewis 13