Box Score

WINGATE, N.C. - Byron Faison and Re'mon Nelson led a trio Pacers in double figures and the USC Aiken men's basketball team won its second consecutive game with a 76-64 victory over Wingate on Saturday afternoon.

USC Aiken's second straight win and important regional victory improves the Pacers to 4-3 on the 2009-10 season. Wingate drops to 5-3 overall on the young season with the loss to the Pacers.

USC Aiken went into intermission up by seven points at 39-32. The Pacers led for most of the first half. They took their first lead of the game at 9-8 at the 14:49 mark after two Nelson (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) free throws.

Over 12 minutes later, USC Aiken held a nine-point advantage at 35-26 after a Faison (Sumter, S.C./Winthrop) three-pointer. Faison would hit a jumper with 13 seconds left in the first half to give the Pacers a 39-30 lead, but Wingate's Jaime Vaughn hit a jumper with seven seconds left in the first stanza to set the score at 39-32 in favor of USC Aiken at halftime.

Faison led the Pacers in the first half with nine points. Nelson and Mark Brown (Charlotte, N.C./Hickory Grove Christian) each finished the first half with eight points.

The Pacers would not let the Bulldogs get any closer over the opening minutes of the second half with Nelson's jumper at the 12:29 mark giving the Pacers a 10-point 52-42 lead. After stealing the ball on Wingate's next offensive possession, Nelson hit a three-pointer to garner USC Aiken a 55-42 advantage.

The Pacers would keep pushing, owning a 17-point 72-55 lead after a Faison long-range jumper with 3:25 left in the game. That would be as far ahead as the Pacers would be able to get in their 12-point win.

Faison and Nelson both ended their day with 19 points each. Faison was a deft 8-for-12 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also had four steals and two assists in the contest.

Nelson finished Saturday's game shooting 6-for-13 from the field. The Pacer point guard also corralled eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Seth Leonard (York, Pa./William Penn) was the final USC Aiken student-athlete in double figures with 12 points. Leonard was 6-for-8 from the charity stripe in the game.

Wingate's Paidrick Matilus was the top scorer for the Bulldogs, tying Nelson and Faison for game-high honors with 19 points.

The Pacers concluded the contest shooting 49 percent as a team. The Pacer defense held the Bulldogs to just 38 percent shooting as a team. The Pacers hit on 53 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc.

USC Aiken will return home next for its final home contest before the Holiday break as they will play host to Allen at approximately 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17. The contest is the second game of a men's and women's basketball twinbill at the Convocation Center.

The USC Aiken athletic department will be holding a special Toys for Tots drive for the men's and women's basketball doubleheader on Thursday, Dec. 17. The special promotion was done through a cooperative effort with the USC Aiken women's basketball program and it is sponsored by the United States Marine Corps League in Aiken. Leading up to the doubleheader, the USC Aiken athletic department will be placing special boxes around the Convocation Center where you can leave toys of any kind for the less fortunate.

The special doubleheader begins on Dec. 17 with the USC Aiken women's basketball team hosting nationally-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne at 6 p.m. Prior to the game, the Aiken Marine Corps League will present the colors. They will also present the colors for the men's game.