Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LAKELAND, Fla. – Javonte Clanton scored a team-best 19 points, but it was not enough as No. 2 USC Aiken dropped its second consecutive game by the score of 83-75 to host Florida Southern on Tuesday evening in the Florida Southern Holiday Inn South/Ledger Classic at the Jenkins Field House.
The second straight loss by the Pacers marks the first time since the 2006-07 campaign that USC Aiken has conceded two straight games during the regular season. The Pacers never lost two in a row during their Peach Belt Conference championship season in 2007-08.
The Pacers trailed by as many as 14 in the second half, but pushed their way back into the game with just under eight minutes left in the contest by squaring the contest at 62-62. The momentum that the Pacers had generated would quickly change with the Mocs going on a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 75-62 lead.
USC Aiken (6-2) showed their resolve over the next two minutes by going on a 9-0 run that cut the Florida Southern lead to four at 75-71. The Pacers would get as close as three at 78-75 with 30 seconds left. Florida Southern's Rob Eldridge then hit one of two free throws to place the Mocs ahead by four. Josh Dollard (Hemingway, S.C./Auburn) had a chance to cut the FSC lead to one, but his three-point attempt nipped the front of the rim and the Mocs hit their free throws in the waning moments to earn the eight-point victory.
USCA's Clanton (Columbus, Ohio/Blinn College) was 5-for-9 from the field in the loss to the Mocs, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He was one of four Pacers in double figures.
Dollard collected his third double-double of the year in the game, scoring 17 and bringing down 10 caroms. Chris Commons (Toledo, Ohio/Findlay) scored 12 in the defeat, while Kingsley Oguchi (Houston, Texas/George Bush) ended his efforts with 11 points. Oguchi knocked down just one field goal in the loss, but he was 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He had a team-high six assists.
Eldridge led three Mocs in double figures with 22 points. The preseason All-American was 7-for-15 from the field and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe. Two Mocs finished with double-doubles with John Thompson (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Zach Smith (13 points, 14 rebounds) both picking up double-digit efforts.
Overall, USC Aiken shot a season-low 34.9 percent in the game. Florida Southern hit on 47.6 percent of their shots. USC Aiken was stronger at the free throw line (86 percent-67 percent).
The USC Aiken-Florida Southern men's basketball game will be re-broadcast in the Augusta area on WBEK UPN 16. The contest will air at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 4. WBEK-TV can be found on Comcast (channel 103), Charter (Channel 96) and Knology (Channel 96) in the Augusta market. The trio allows WBEK-TV to reach almost 235,000 viewers in the CSRA.
The game is also being shown all across Florida at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3 on ION-TV courtesy of Polk County Sports Marketing.
Prior to tuning in to the Pacers' game against Florida Southern, USC Aiken fans have the opportunity to see the nationally-ranked Pacer men's and women's basketball team in person at the Convocation Center.
The 18th-ranked USC Aiken women kick off this weekend's action at the Convocation Center with a contest against 26th-ranked Shaw at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2.
One day later, the USC Aiken men's and women's basketball teams will take the floor for their first Peach Belt Conference doubleheader of the season in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center.
The USC Aiken athletic department will hold "Community Night" for the Peach Belt Conference men's and women's basketball doubleheader against North Georgia at the Convocation Center on Saturday, Jan. 3. The special promotion will be held to honor everyone in the community for their support of Pacer athletics.
In their honor, the USCA athletic department will sell adult tickets for only $3! Students will be able to attend the game for just a $1. The women's basketball team at USC Aiken is scheduled to take on North Georgia at 5:30 p.m. with the men slated to take on the Saints immediately following the women's game at approximately 7:30 p.m.
During both of the women's games and during the men's and women's basketball doubleheader the USC Aiken athletic department will also be selling tickets for the conference doubleheader against rival Augusta State in Augusta, Ga. on Monday, Jan. 5.

Game One (Dec. 29)
Saint Joseph's 77, #2 USC Aiken 66 

LAKELAND, Fla. – Chris Commons acquired his first double-double of the year, but No. 2 University of South Carolina Aiken fell 77-66 to Saint Joseph's (Ind.) in its first game of the Florida Southern Holiday Inn South/Ledger Classic on Monday evening at Jenkins Field House.
The loss dropped the Pacers to 6-1 on the season, while the victory improved Saint Joseph's to 6-3 on the year.
Josh Dollard (Hemingway, S.C./Auburn) and Chris Commons (Toledo, Ohio/Findlay) led the Pacers in their first loss of the 2008-09 season. Both players scored 25 in the contest.
The duo scored all but four of USC Aiken's 34 points in the second half. Commons ended the second half with 17 points, while Dollard posted 13 in the second stanza. Commons also concluded the game with 11 rebounds to net his first double-double of the 2008-09 campaign. It is the third of the year for the Pacers as Dollard has already recorded two double-doubles this season.
Dollard has now scored in double figures in all seven USC Aiken games. Commons has scored in double figures in all but one USC Aiken game. Dollard led all players in the game with a contest-high three blocks and a game-high tying three steals.
The Pumas had four players record double figures in their win over the second-ranked team in the country. Michael Horton led all Saint Joseph's players with 15 points. Will Jones was not far behind with 14.
Horton scored 11 of his 15 points from the charity stripe where he was 11-for-13.
The Pumas barely shot better than the Pacers in the contest, shooting 42.3 percent compared to USC Aiken's 40.4 percent. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the second half with USC Aiken leading the way with a 54.2 percent shooting effort in the second stanza.
USC Aiken shot a healthy 76 percent from the free throw line, but Saint Joseph's shot 82.4 percent. The Pacers held a slight rebounding edge at 36-32.