Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken had 12th ranked Kennesaw State on the ropes, but couldn't deliver the knock out punch and lost the 64-55 decision tonight at "The Courthouse" in Aiken, S.C. The Pacers (6-14, 2-8 PBC) found themselves tied with the nationally ranked Owls (18-3, 8-2 PBC) with just over five and a half minutes to play, but did not score in the final 2:40 and KSU escaped with the win. 

Ronnell Wooten led Kennesaw with a game-high 14 points while Josh Geyer scored 11 for USCA. Tommy Thompson finished with 10 points to go along with seven assists and Georgy Joseph scored nine and grabbed eight rebounds for the Owls. Richard Blocker added 10 points and six rebounds for the Pacers.

Kennesaw State built a 14-point first half lead but led by just six at halftime. Thompson's jumper doubled the KSU halftime advantage to 12, 46-34, with 14:16 left in the game, but the Owls did not hit another field goal for the next nine minutes and USC Aiken took advantage.

The Pacers used a 12-1 run to draw within a single point, 47-46, on an Arnold Coates basket with 10:16 remaining. USCA capitalized on a technical foul accessed to Kevin McDonald. A Geyer free throw and an Anthony Sampson lay-up tied the score at 49-49 with 6:31 to go.

Kennesaw pushed out in front by six on Rey Luque's jumper with 4:01 on the clock. Back-to-back baskets from Geyer and Coates had USC Aiken down by only two, 57-55, with 2:42 remaining in the game, but USCA did not score again and Luque capped off the game with a break-away dunk, four ticks before the horn.

The Pacers connected on 12-of-22 shots in the second half for 54.5 percent. KSU made 50 percent (10-of-20) of its second half attempts. The Owls finished with a 37-23 advantage on the boards.

Seven unanswered Kennesaw points turned a 5-5 game into a 12-5 lead for the visitors with 13:27 left in the first half. Joseph began an 11-2 run with a jumper at the 10:29 mark. Lawrence Pruitt's bucket capped it off and gave the Owls their largest lead of 14 points, 26-12, with 7:43 before intermission.

USC Aiken answered with an 11-4 run to close the gap to seven. Marcus Robinson scored five of his six points during the run and picked up two steals. Blocker's three-pointer with 1:35 to go before the break finished off the scoring for both teams in the first half and sent USCA to the locker room trailing by six, 32-26.

The Pacers will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel across the Savannah River to face rival Augusta State University. Tip-off at Christenberry Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

SCORING:
Kennesaw State (64): Ronnell Wooten 14, Rey Luque 11, Tommy Thompson 10, Georgy Joseph 9, Lawrence Pruitt 8, Kevin McDonald 7, Suhan Stegall 3, Kevin Smith 2, Jeff Vaughn 0 

USC Aiken (55): Josh Geyer 11, Richard Blocker 10, Arnold Coates 8, Curt Triplin 6, Marcus Robinson 6, Franchot Brown 6, Kenny Burr 4, Anthony Sampson 4, Trent Boyd 0, Josh Poston 0, Theo Oates 0, Richard Glover 0