AIKEN, S.C. – The Patriots of Francis Marion gave the fifth-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team a close run in the teams' league opener, but a stout shooting performance in the second half from Myles Holley helped lift the Pacers to a 78-67 victory in front of a large home crowd Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.

USC Aiken remains unbeaten in the young 2010-11 season with an overall record of 5-0 and have now commenced Peach Belt Conference play at 1-0. Francis Marion falls to 5-2 overall and begin their conference slate 0-1.

Holley (Norfolk, Va./Nebraska) only recorded six points in the first half but senior Brandon Shephard (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley) came off the bench with eight points to lead the Pacers at intermission.

The Pacers entered halftime with a slim five-point lead at 40-35 but within two minutes of the start of the second stanza, the Patriots would edge out to a slight 41-40 lead.

USC Aiken was able to knot the score at 42-42 just two minutes later as Holley slammed down a resounding dunk off an assist by fellow newcomer Kenny Manigault (Summerville, S.C./Wichita State) after Manigault collected one of his game-high six steals off a turnover by Andrew Smith.

The Pacers and Patriots kept the game close for most of the half with USC Aiken only leading by as much as eight points before Francis Marion closed within one point with just over nine minutes left in regulation.

The Patriots continued to battle hard and garnered their final lead of the night at 63-62 as Dominique Coleman hit a three-pointer off a steal by Simel Boyd with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.

However their lead would not persist as the Pacers reclaimed the lead off a jump-shot by Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden) to put the Pacers back on top 64-63.

USC Aiken ended the game on a 14-3 run over the closing minutes as Holley capped the night by hitting a three-pointer from the left side to put the game away at 78-67.

Holley's 22 points led all scorers in the contest, with 16 of his points coming in the second stanza, as he shot a scorching 66.67 percent (8-12) from the field including a perfect 2-for-2 from the beyond the three-point arc. He also led all players with another career-high five blocks.

Two other Pacers scored in double figures for USC Aiken with junior Kevin Willis (Atlanta, Ga./Kaskaskia) just missing out on a double-double with 10 points while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and collecting eight boards. Fellow big-man Michael Technow (Boca Raton, Fla./American) also tallied 10 points while knocking down two blocks.

Francis Marion was led in scoring by Coleman who collected 21points. Boyd tallied 13 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds for the Patriots while Evrik Gary chipped in 12 points of his own.

USC Aiken will now hit the road and travel to St. Augustine, Fla. to take on PBC foe Flagler College on Saturday, Dec. 4. The conference match-up between the Pacers and Saints will be part of a PBC doubleheader as the Pacer women will square off with the Saints 1:30 p.m. with the men slated to tip-off at approximately 3:30 p.m. As always, the games can be followed on USC Aiken's official athletic website, www.PacerSports.com.