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GREENWOOD, S.C. - On a day in which they moved back into the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Rankings, the regionally 10th-ranked USC Aiken men's basketball team closed out its 2009-10 Peach Belt Conference campaign with a 72-66 victory over Lander on Wednesday evening at Horne Arena.
The Pacers conclude their 2009-10 Peach Belt Conference regular season campaign with an 11-7 mark in the Peach Belt Conference. The record presently leaves the Pacers a half-game ahead of Francis Marion in the PBC East. FMU lost 72-63 to Flagler on Wednesday evening to fall to 10-7 in the league in the 2009-10 season.
The top two teams in each division will serve as hosts during the first round of the PBC Tournament, which is why all of this means that the Pacers still have a shot of earning a home game during the first round of the PBC Tournament to be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. Francis Marion holds the tiebreaker against the Pacers due to their head-to-head wins over USC Aiken earlier this season, but a Patriot loss to Armstrong Atlantic State on Saturday means that the game will be held at the Convocation Center. If not, the game will be held at Francis Marion.
In the game against Lander on Wednesday evening, the first 10 minutes neither team was able to garner any separation, but after two Byron Faison (Sumter, S.C./Crestwood) free throws with 10:05 left in the first half of play the Pacers owned a slight 15-13 lead.
Lander would go on an 18-9 run over the next eight minutes to own a 32-24 lead with just under a minute and a half left until intermission.
Mark Brown (Charlotte, N.C./Hickory Grove Christian) made sure that the Bearcat lead was only four at the halftime break, hitting a three-pointer with seven seconds left in the first half that set the halftime score at 31-27 in Lander's favor.
USC Aiken concluded the first half shooting 37.5 percent (9-for-24). Lander in turn shot 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from the field in the first half. Both teams hit three 3-pointers, but USC Aiken took seven more attempts than the Bearcats beyond the arc in the first half.
The Pacers were a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the first half.
USC Aiken commenced the second half on an 11-6 run to own a 38-37 lead with 15:31 remaining in the contest. Casey McMasters (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) obtained the lead for the Pacers on his first three-pointer of the evening.
The Pacers had pushed their lead to five three minutes later after another three-pointer by McMasters. The trey by McMasaters garnered the Pacers a 45-40 lead with 12:23 left on the clock in the second half.
USC Aiken proceeded upon a 13-6 run from there to hold its largest lead of the game up to that point at 58-46. A Faison jumper earned the Pacers the 12-point advantage with under seven minutes left in regulation.
The Pacers would go up by as many as 14 points down the stretch before settling on the six-point victory.
USC Aiken was led by McMasters and Faison in the game. Both ended the contest with 14 points. McMasters connected on four three-pointers in the second half to help collect his 14 points in the game.
Four Pacers finished in double figures in total with Kevin Willis (Atlanta, Ga./Kaskaskia College) and Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden) both scoring in double figures in addition to McMasters and Faison. Willis just missed out a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Council ended his efforts with 10 points to go along with five assists.
Darius Johnson was the top of four Bearcats in double figures. Johnson tied Faison and McMasters for game-high with 14 points.
As a team, USC Aiken shot 50 percent in the contest. The Pacers hit 23 of their 46 field goal attempts in the game. Lander ended its night shooting 40.4 percent (21-for-52).
USC Aiken improved dramatically behind the arc in the second stanza to finish the game shooting 52.6 percent (10-for-19) beyond the arc.
USC Aiken will conclude its 2009-10 regular season at home on Saturday, Feb. 27 with a 4 p.m. game against King College at the Convocation Center. The contest will be Senior Day for the USC Aiken Cheerleading and Dance team.
For those unable to make it to the game as always the USC Aiken Sports Information Department has you covered. Live stats and a free live webcast will be available for Pacer fans who are unable to attend the game. The live stats and live webcast can be accessed by clicking on the live stats link and video link at www.pacersports.com.
