AIKEN, S.C. - The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team pulled away from Flagler in the second half to acquire a 98-67 win on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

The game was the 2011-12 Peach Belt Conference opener for USC Aiken (5-1, 1-0 PBC).

Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden) led five Pacers in double figures in the game with a game-high 23 points. The 23 points were a career-high for Council. It is also the Pacer team season-high.

Council shot 70 percent (7-for-10) from the floor in collecting the 23 points. He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. He also had four steals and three assists in the Pacer win.

Re'mon Nelson (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) ended his afternoon with 18 points and four assists. He also had four steals. Nelson was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and 6-for-9 from the field.

Jeremiah Pojah (Houston, Texas/East Texas Baptist) claimed his first double-double as a Pacer with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He acquired half of his boards on the offensive glass. Pojah was 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the game.

Chase Holmes (Chesnee, S.C./Presbyterian) concluded the Pacer win with 11 points, while Maurice Hubbard (Centreville,Va./Ball State) was the final USC Aiken player in double figures with 10 points.

Matt Clark led four Flagler (6-3, 0-2 PBC) players in double figures in the game with 22 points. He was 8-for-14 from the field in the contest. He knocked down five 3-pointers.

Flagler's Chad July collected a game-high 17 rebounds to go along with 15 points.

USC Aiken as a team ended the 31-point win over Flagler shooting 47.7 percent (31-for-65). Flagler shot 42.6 percent (26-for-61) as a team in the game.

Both teams were strong beyond the arc with the Pacers shooting 43.8 percent (7-for-16). Flagler connected on seven of their 17 attempts (41.2 percent) from 3-point range.

USC Aiken was stout at the charity stripe in the game, hitting on 29 of their 37 attempts (78.4 percent). Flagler hit just eight of its 18 free throw attempts (44.4 percent). 

Flagler came out strong in the game, owning a 14-point 28-14 lead with 9:29 remaining in the first half.

USC Aiken would hold the Saints to just two points over the next five minutes to own a 35-30 lead with 4:16 left in the first half. The 21-2 run over the five-minute span would eventually lead to the Pacers closing the half with a two-point 43-41 advantage.

The second half was all Pacer.

USC Aiken would eventually close out the half out-scoring the Saints, 55-26.