Box Score GREENWOOD, S.C. - Mark Brown scored a season-high 16 points and No. 10 USC Aiken won its fifth straight game with a 78-67 Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander on Wednesday evening at Horne Arena.

USC Aiken improves to 12-3 overall with the victory. The Pacers are now 7-1 in Peach Belt Conference action. USC Aiken remains in sole possession of first place in the PBC with the win over the Bearcats.

Brown (Charlotte, N.C./Hickory Grove Christian) was one of four Pacers in double figures in the game. He was 5-for-7 from the floor in the game, hitting three treys.

Chris Commons (Toledo, Ohio/Findlay) finished the game with 20 points to mark the ninth time this season that he has posted 20 or more points. Commons also had seven rebounds.

Cordaryl Ballard (Westerville, Ohio/Morehead State) scored 18 points in the contest. He only missed one shot in the game, going 6-for-7 from the field. Ballard also had a game-high eight rebounds.

Josh Dollard (Hemingway, S.C./Auburn) was the final Pacer in double figures with 10 points. Dollard also had five boards. He has now scored in double digits in every game that he has played in this year except one.

Houston Wright led the Bearcats, scoring 20 points. Wright hit eight field goals for Lander in the loss.

The Pacers shot 48.1 percent from the field in the contest, while at the same time also holding the Bearcats to 41.8 percent shooting.

Neither team really came out scorching in the opening minutes of the game with the score just 3-3 with 16:30 left in the first half.

Both teams icy start would continue the next four minutes with Lander on top just 8-7 with 12:30 left. The Pacers inability to knock down their opening shots forced Pacer mentor Vince Alexander to call a time out at the 12:30 mark.

The strategy by Alexander worked fluidly with the Pacers going on a short 6-0 spurt over the next two minutes that put them ahead 13-8 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

Despite the Pacers five-point advantage at the time, the game would remain tight for the rest of the first half with USC Aiken up by just two (32-30) at halftime.

After its frigid start, USC Aiken was able to up its shooting percentage in the final minutes of the first half, concluding the half shooting just under 40 percent at 39.3 percent. Lander in turn shot just 35.7 percent in the first half.

The second half would open much the same way that the first half ended as neither team could gain an edge as the game was squared for most of the first few minutes. The Pacers were able to get the advantage though with 16:25 left as Brown was able to elude one Lander defender just inside the arc and then deftly hit a jumper from the left corner to keep USC Aiken on top, 40-38.

The Pacers were able to get a little breathing room over the course of the next few minutes, going up by 10 at 54-44 with just under 11:30 to play in the game.

Brown a couple minutes later pushed the Pacers lead to 15 points at 59-44 after he acquired a steal and then was fouled in the act of making a successful lay-up. Brown calmly hit the three throw to give the Pacers the 15-point advantage.

The double-digit Pacer lead would not last as Lander proceeded to go on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to get back to within four at 59-55. A 6-0 run from there by USCA would put the Pacers back on top by 10 points at 65-55 with 6:30 left to play.

Lander would get as close as six with under two minutes to play, but the Pacers held on for their fifth straight victory.

The Pacers have now beaten Lander in four straight games in the series.

The Pacers stay on the road next for a contest with league rival Georgia College and State at approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24 in Milledgeville, Ga.

The game is the second contest of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader as the No. 19 USC Aiken women are scheduled to take on the GCSU women prior to the men's game on Saturday.