PEMBROKE, N.C. – Behind a career day from Re'mon Nelson the University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team picked up an extremely important 69-65 Peach Belt Conference East Division win over UNC Pembroke at the English E. Jones Center.

The victory on Wednesday leaves the Pacers in sole possession of third place in the PBC East Division with a league mark of 8-8. Francis Marion dropped to fourth at 7-8 after Lander upset them on Wednesday evening.

USC Aiken (14-9, 8-8 PBC) has the opportunity to move into second place in the PBC East Division this weekend in a road game with Armstrong Atlantic State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19. The Pirates are currently in second in the division with a conference record of 8-7.

UNC Pembroke (14-10, 7-9 PBC) fell out of the top four in the PBC East with the loss to USC Aiken on Wednesday evening.

Behind five points from Nelson (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester), USC Aiken opened the game on a 7-0 run.

Just over 11 minutes into the game a Nelson three-pointer at the 8:43 mark of the first half had pulled the Pacers ahead, 27-13.

The 14-point lead would not last long with UNC Pembroke closing the first half on a 16-3 run to pull within one at intermission at 30-29.

The second half began with UNC Pembroke earning its first lead of the game at 31-30.

The two teams would battle back and forth over the next almost 13 minutes with USC Aiken clinging to a slight 56-55 lead with exactly seven minutes remaining in the contest.

The score was tied 62-62 going into the final three minutes of the contest.

The score would remain knotted at 62 until Nelson hit two free throws with 1:44 remaining in the game to give the Pacers a two-point lead at 64-62. Nelson earned USC Aiken a four-point lead at 66-62 with 28 seconds left with a jumper.

Marcus Heath hit a three-pointer to cut the Pacer lead to just one at 66-65 on UNC Pembroke's next offensive possession. The shot came with just 19 seconds remaining in the game.

USC Aiken as would be expected made sure to get the basketball into the hands of Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden), who promptly rewarded the confidence of the Pacer coaching staff by knocking down two free throws with 17 seconds remaining to give the Pacers a three-point lead at 68-65.

Nelson added another free throw in the final seconds to leave the Pacers with the crucial four-point win.

Nelson concluded Wednesday's win with a career-high 24 points. He was 9 for 16 - including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc - from the field in the game. His day also included six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Kevin Willis (Atlanta, Ga./Kaskaskia) picked up his second double-double of the 2010-11 season in the victory with 11 points and 14 rebounds. The 14 rebounds, of which half came on the offensive glass, were a career-best for Willis.

Alvin Brown (Fort Washington, Md./James Madison) was the final Pacer in double figures in the game with 14 points. Brown also had seven rebounds and five blocks in the game. He was 7 for 8 from the field in the game.

Three Braves acquired double figures with Chris Hargrove leading the way with 19 points.

USC Aiken as a team concluded Wednesday's victory shooting 46.7 percent (28 for 60). The Pacer defense in turn held the Braves to just 36.8 percent (21 for 57) shooting.

USC Aiken's PBC East showdown with Armstrong Atlantic is the second game of a PBC doubleheader as the nationally 15^th-ranked Pacer women will take the hardwood against the Armstrong Atlantic women prior to the men's game at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Both of the games in the doubleheader will be able to be followed live on USC Aiken's official athletic website at www.PacerSports.com.