Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--Freshman Josh Poston (pictured at right) tied the school record with 13 assists and added 14 points as the USC Aiken men's basketball team easily defeated Carver Bible College (0-7), 90-58, on the first day of the Fourth Annual Conoco Phillips Classic hosted by USCA tonight at "The Courthouse." Freshman Kenny Burr scored a team-high 15 points for the Pacers (2-0) and Anthony Sampson finished with a team-best 11 rebounds.

Arnold Coates scored on a jumper 21 seconds into the game to put USC Aiken in front 2-0 and the Pacers never looked back. After Frederick Fields brought Carver to within five, 11-6, with 15:55 to go in the first half, USCA scored nine unanswered as part of a 24-3 run. 

Marcus Robinson's dunk with 12:36 on the clock put the home team in front 20-6. Burr's three-pointer with 8:39 left in the first stanza capped the run and gave the Pacers a 26-point advantage, 35-9.

Mychal Thompson's trey cut the deficit to 21 points with 7:02 to go before the break. Burr buried another three-pointer, with 5:55 remaining, which keyed a 17-4 Pacer run that ended the first half. Freshman Theo Oates scored seven of the 17 points and USCA took a 34-point lead, 55-21, into the locker room.

The Cougars made just six-of-37 shots from the field for 16.2 percent in the first 20 minutes. USCA made 23-of-41 of its shots for 56.1 percent.

Oates' jumper five minutes into the second half put USC Aiken up by 41 points, 67-26. A three-pointer by Poston with 13:16 left in the game put the Pacers up by 43, 73-30. Oates' three-pointer with 7:34 showing on the clock gave USCA its largest lead, 45, 85-40.

Carver finished the final four minutes with a 15-3 run to close within 32 points. A lay-up by Nathaniel Canty with 16 seconds left set the final score at 90-58.

Burr made all six of his shots from the field and all three of his attempts from beyond the three-point arch for his team-high 15 points. Poston's 13 assists tied the school mark set by former Pacer Thomas Ryan on two occasions. 

For the game USCA made 51.4 percent of its shots from the field and 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from three-point land. The Cougars finished the game having made 27.4 percent of their shots from the field and 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from deep.

The Pacers' 13 made three-pointers missed tying the school record of 14, set two times before.

Fields finished with a game-high 22 points on eight-of-15 from the field and six-of-11 from beyond the three-point arch. Jeremy Russell grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and added 21 points. Carver, which is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, suited up just six players for the game.

Only one USC Aiken starter played more than seven minutes, Richard Blocker logged 13 minutes. None of the five starters played in the second half.

In the first game of the 2004 Conoco Phillips Classic, Augusta State defeated Carson Newman College, 65-58. 
On the second day of the Conoco Phillips Classic, USC Aiken will play Carson-Newman College on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Augusta State will open the day against Carver Bible College at 1:00 p.m.

SCORING:
Carver Bible College (58): Frederick Fields 22, Jeremy Russell 21, Mychal Thompson 9, Nathaniel Canty 2, Raif Ferguson 2, Kwami Shorter 2

USC Aiken (90): Kenny Burr 15, Josh Poston 14, Richard Glover 13, Theo Oates 12, Anthony Sampson 9, Marcus Robinson 8, Josh Geyer 5, Franchot Brown 5, Arnold Coates 4, Richard Blocker 3, Curt Triplin 2, Trent Boyd 0