Box Score

SALISBURY, N.C. - Despite five players finishing in double figures, the USC Aiken men's basketball team dropped its first game of the year with a 97-78 loss to Pfeiffer in its final game of the 2009 Salisbury Roundball Classic at Goodman Gym on the campus of Catawba College.

USC Aiken with the loss is now 2-1 on the 2009-10 season. Pfeiffer improved to 2-1 on the year with the victory over the Pacers.

The first half concluded with the two teams tied at 40. The halftime score was indicative of the action in the first half. The Pacers led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Falcons battled back to take the lead at 39-38 with just under three minutes left in the first half. Rashad Flowers (Charleston, S.C./Garrett Academy) would garner the lead back at 40-39 for the Pacers on a jumper in the paint. Pfeiffer would leave the game tied when Chris Woods made one of two free throws with 54 seconds left in the first half.

Neither team would find a field goal in the final minute of action in the first stanza.

Casey McMasters (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led the Pacers in the first with 10 points. Fellow Pennsylvania native Seth Leonard (York, Pa./William Penn) continued his strong first half play in the Salisbury Roundball Classic in the contest by acquiring nine points and eight rebounds in the first half of play.

The Pacers were 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) in the first half from the floor. The Pacers were lethal from the charity stripe in the first stanza, knocking down all 13 of their attempts.

The second half opened with Pfeiffer going on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the evening at the time at 49-42 with 17:56 left in the game. The Falcons would continue to extend their lead from there, taking a 12-point lead at 80-68 with under six minutes remaining in the game.

The Pacers would get back to within 10 at 80-70 with 5:31 remaining, but they would be able to get no closer as Pfeiffer picked up the 19-point win.

Michael Technow (Boca Raton, Fla./American University) was the top scorer in the loss for the Pacers with 16 points. Technow was perfect from the field and the free throw line in the contest. He was 7-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

McMasters was right behind Technow with 15 points, while last night's hero Byron Faison (Sumter, S.C./Winthrop University) concluded the Pfeiffer game with 13 total points. Flowers and Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden) were the final Pacers in double digits with each recording 10 points in the contest.

Leonard did not score in the second half, but he corralled two more rebounds to finish as the only Pacer with double-digit caroms with 10.

Woods stole the show for Pfeiffer in the game with a game-high 34 points. He also brought down 10 boards to finish with a double-double. Woods was 12-for-19 from the field in the game and 10-for-14 from the free throw line.

USC Aiken's percentage from the floor in the second half dipped to 37.1 percent, leaving the Pacers shooting 39.1 percent for the game. Pfeiffer shot a combined 42 percent from the field in the game.

The Pacers as a team were 24-for-25 (96 percent) from the free throw line in the game.

USC Aiken will next return home for a home game against preseason No. 8 Florida Southern at the Convocation Center on Saturday, Nov. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

For those unable to attend USC Aiken's contest against nationally-ranked Florida Southern as always the USC Aiken Sports Information Department has you covered. Live statistics will be available on www.PacerSports.com. There are numerous ways to access the live statistics. One can go to the multimedia section on the top bar of USC Aiken's official athletic website and choose live stats. Another way is by clicking on the live stats link on the upcoming schedule on the main page once the game has started. Finally, one can access the live stats by clicking on the men's basketball schedule and then clicking on live stats on the far right side of the schedule page.

There will also be a live webcast of the Florida Southern game, which can be accessed by doing all the same things as above, but choosing video instead of live stats. The video webcasts are absolutely free per a special agreement with the Peach Belt Conference and Penn Atlantic. All one needs to do is register and once a password is obtained just follow the simple directions.