Box Score Box Score
AIKEN, S.C. - USC Aiken owned the lead pretty much wire-to-wire and Rashad Flowers finished with a double-double in an 82-74 win over Benedict on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Pacers, who are now back to .500 at 3-3. Benedict moved to .500 on the year with its loss to the Pacers at 2-2.
The Pacer victory over Benedict marks the 70th win for the Pacers under the tutelage of Vince Alexander. In the fifth season of the Alexander era, USC Aiken acquired its first ever win of Alexander's tenure with an 89-87 overtime victory over Benedict on Nov. 19, 2005. After Saturday's victory, Alexander is now 70-59 overall and 2-0 against the Tigers as the Pacer head mentor.
Except for an early tie at 2-2 at the 19:24 mark of the first half, USC Aiken led for the entire contest.
The Pacers controlled the majority of the action in the first half, leading 36-23 with 5:48 left in the first stanza. Benedict would claw its way back into the contest down the stretch in the first half by going on an 11-4 run in the final five minutes of the half to sit just six back of the Pacers at 40-34.
USC Aiken for all intents and purposes put the game out of reach for the Tigers in the inaugural 10 minutes of the second half. The Pacers held an 18-point lead with 9:05 left in the game after a three-pointer by Byron Faison (Sumter, S.C./Winthrop).
Benedict would battle the Pacers the rest of the contest, but USC Aiken would not let the Tigers get any closer than six points in the Pacers' eventual 82-74 victory.
In a game in which Benedict tried to notch most of its points from beyond the arc, USC Aiken finished with a wide rebounding margin against the Tigers at 43-15. Four Pacers finished with over six rebounds in the contest.
Flowers (Charleston, S.C./Garrett Academy) led the charge with 13 rebounds and 13 points. Flowers' double-double was his second of the year as he also commandeered a double-double in USC Aiken's win over Catawba with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Flowers was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor in the win over Benedict.
Seth Leonard (York. Pa./William Penn) was right behind Flowers in rebounds. He just missed on a double-double of his own with 12 points and nine caroms.
In a balanced Pacer effort, Flowers and Leonard were two of six Pacers to finish in double figures. In total, all nine Pacers that saw action against Benedict scored.
Faison was the top scorer in the contest with 17 total points. Faison knocked down four 3-pointers in the game.
Jakub Gadomski (Wroclaw, Poland/Community Christian) and Mark Brown (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian) both ended their efforts with 12 points. Gadomski was 5-of-8 from the field, while Brown was as usual a weapon from beyond the arc with all 12 of his points coming on three-pointers.
The final Pacer in double figures was starting point guard Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden), who ended his evening perfect in all facets. Council was 2-for-2 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe on the afternoon. He led the Pacers as well with six assists, while also bringing down seven rebounds.
Steve Horton was the top scorer for the Tigers with 16 points.
USC Aiken had its best shooting performance of the year as a team in the contest, connecting on 26 of its 45 shots (57.8 percent). Benedict ended the game 22-for-55 (40 percent) as a team.
USC Aiken will spend of the majority of its week concentrating on academics since it is finals week at USC Aiken. The Pacers will return to the hardwood on Saturday, Dec. 12 to take on South Atlantic Conference power Wingate at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12.
Live stats and a live webcast will be available for Pacer fans who are unable to attend the game courtesy of Wingate Sports Information. The live stats and webcast can be accessed by clicking on the live stats link and the video link at www.pacersports.com.
