Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--Ronnie Dennis nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Georgia College & State University a 63-62 win over the USC Aiken men's basketball team tonight (Saturday) at "The Courthouse" in Aiken, S.C. The Bobcats (10-7, 2-4 PBC) came from 12 points down in the second half to grab the win. Dennis scored a game-high 17 for GC&SU while Josh Geyer led the Pacers (5-10, 1-4 PBC) with 16 points.
Arnold Coates jumper almost two minutes into the second half gave USCA its largest lead of the game, 12 points, 33-21. GC&SU answered with a 20-2 run. Justin Dickens cut the deficit to five, 33-28, with 16:55 to go in the game. Aaron Clark's free throw gave the lead to the Bobcats, 36-35, with 14:18 on the clock.
Harrison capped the run with a lay-up at the 12:49 mark and gave GC&SU a six-point cushion, 41-35. Harrison scored eight of his 10 points during the run.
A 6-0 Pacer run tied the game at 45 with 9:18 remaining. Neither team led by more than four points the remainder of the game. Geyer's lay-up made it 55-51 with 3:58 showing on the clock. Clark's lay-up drew the Bobcats to within one with just 17 ticks remaining.
Curt Triplin went to the line with 13 seconds to go and a chance to give USCA a three-point lead. The senior connected on just one of his two free throw attempts to set up GC&SU's last second shot. Triplin would finish with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Dickens' attempt to win the game missed to the right side, Harrison grabbed the offensive board and dished it to Dennis on the right wing, who knocked down the trey while falling to the floor.
A Josh Poston three-pointer gave the Pacers an early 3-0 advantage with 18:27 to go in the first half. Jeremy Mayweather's dunk put the Bobcats in front 4-3 almost two minutes later. After Clark scored a lay-up for an 8-6 lead, GC&SU went scoreless for the next seven minutes and 56 seconds. USCA rolled off nine unanswered and led 15-8 with 6:23 remaining before intermission.
Franchot Brown's jumper put USC Aiken in front by 11, 24-13, with 3:31 left in the first half. Dennis hit all three free throws after being fouled on a three-pointer, with 46 seconds showing on the clock, to set the halftime score at 29-21.
Brown, a freshman, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. The Pacers held a 45-29 rebounding advantage but turned the ball over 19 times, compared to 15 turnovers for GC&SU.
USCA hit on 12-of-28 in the second half for 42.9 percent and finished the game 23-of-25 from the field for 39 percent. The Bobcats shot just 29.2 percent (seven-of-24) in the first 20 minutes of play but improved to 48.3 percent (14-of-29) in the second half and finished 21-of-53 for 39.6 percent.
The Pacers will return to action on Wednesday when they host UNC Pembroke at "The Courthouse" beginning at 7:30 p.m.Â
SCORING:
GC&SU (63):Â Ronnie Dennis 17, Bryan Harrison 10, Aaron Clark 10, Justin Dickens 8, Jeremy Mayweather 6, Andre Smith 5, Roland Williams 5, Chris Boyd 2, Cooper Sellers 0, Travis Nesby 0, Donald Battles 0
USC Aiken (62):Â Josh Geyer 16, Curt Triplin 14, Franchot Brown 10, Arnold Coates 6, Josh Poston 6, Richard Blocker 3, Theo Oates 3, Trent Boyd 2, Anthony Sampson 2, Kenny Burr 0, Marcus Robinson 0, Richard Glover
