Box Score COLUMBUS, Ga.--USC Aiken fell behind by 13 to start the game but drew within four in the second half before Columbus State pulled away on the back of Yandel Brown and downed the Pacers, 80-65, today in Columbus, Ga. Brown, the nation's leading scorer, dropped in a game-high 31 and scored 11 points during a 15-3 run that allowed the Cougars (10-4, 3-1 PBC) to pull away. Marcus Robinson led the Pacers (5-8, 1-2 PBC) with 15 points off the bench.
Trailing by nine at halftime, USCA opened the second half with five straight points to get within four, 37-33, with 18:33 to play. Richard Blocker went to the free throw line 28 seconds later with a chance to bring the Pacers to within two points, but the junior missed on both attempts and Columbus State pushed back out by nine.
Two free throws by Robinson and a jumper from Josh Geyer cut the Cougar lead to five, 42-37, with 16:41 remaining but CSU answered with its 15-3 run to take control. Brown knocked down three treys and a lay-up to account for 11 of the 15 points.Â
Brown entered the game averaging 29.2 points per game, best in NCAA Division II. He made nine-of-22 attempts from the field, including seven-of-13 from beyond the three point arch, and six-of-eight from the charity stripe for his game-high 31 points. He added four rebounds, three assists and five steals.
After a lay-up and free throw from Will Davis gave Columbus State a 21-point advantage, 70-49, with 6:43 left in the game, Kenny Burr buried back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 15 points. Burr finished with 14 points on four-of-seven shooting, all of which were three-point attempts, and two-of-two from the free throw line.
Jack Tinkler's triple with 2:07 remaining gave CSU its largest lead, 23 points, 80-57. Tinkler finished with 18 points.
Tinkler's first three-pointer capped off 13 unanswered points by Columbus State to start the game. Six of those points came off Brown three-pointers.
The Pacers kept the deficit under 13 points the rest of the first half. A trey by Blocker cut it to seven, 24-17, with 7:04 to go before intermission. A jumper from Quint Coger at the buzzer sent the Cougars to the locker room with a nine point advantage, 37-28.
The two teams combined for 20 three-point field goals. USCA went eight-of-22 from deep for 36.4 percent. Columbus connected on 12-of-28 for 42.9 percent.Â
For the second game in a row, turnovers plagued the Pacers. After committing 29 against UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, USCA threw it away 25 times today against the Cougars. CSU finished with 20 turnovers.
The Pacers will play the third of three consecutive road games on Wednesday when they travel to face Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
SCORING:
USC Aiken (65):Â Marcus Robinson 15, Kenny Burr 14, Richard Glover 8, Josh Poston 7, Richard Blocker 5, Josh Geyer 4, Curt Triplin 4, Arnold Coates 3, Trent Boyd 2, Theo Oates 2, Anthony Sampson 1
Columbus State (80):Â Yandel Brown 31, Jack Tinkler 18, Akeem Francis 10, Will Davis 9, Nathan Patterson 5, Quint Coger 4, Terrell Slater 2, Barry Jordan 1, Charles Adekola 0, Corris Portis 0, Chris Brown 0, Battle Neal 0, Jeff Peterson 0
