MORROW, Ga. – A strong showing propelled the University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team to a 68-55 road win at Clayton State Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 13-2 overall, including a 5-0 ledger in Peach Belt Conference play.

DeVontae Wright and Ronald Zimmerman led the way by netting 17 points apiece for head coach Vince Alexander's team. Wright distributed a game-high eight assists while 15 of Zimmerman's points came from behind the three-point arc.

Paul Larsen narrowly missed a double-double performance by registering nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Five of Larsen's boards were on the offensive glass.

Jesse Seilern and Rick Alderman contributed nine and seven points, respectively. Alvin Brown and Santoine Butler each blocked two shots.

The Pacers connected on 27-of-62 shots from the floor (43.5 percent) while limiting the home team to 17-of-49 from the field (34.7 percent). USC Aiken also buried seven three-point shots and hit 70 percent of its charity tosses. Alexander's squad out-rebounded the opposition 38-29 and distributed 12 assists compared to five for Clayton State.

The Pacers trailed by three in the early going, but Larsen's lay-up with 8:23 to play in the first half pulled the squad within one at 16-15. After a media time-out, Wright drilled a deep three off a pass from Alderman. It marked the first lead in nearly five minutes for the visitors – and it was a lead the team would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Larsen's basket sparked a 13-0 run for Alexander's team. Wright, Alderman, Larsen and Seilern closed out the spurt by notching a basket apiece. USC Aiken headed into halftime with a 29-24 advantage.

Neither squad could find the bottom of the net in the second period until Wright hit a jumper with 16:35 to play in the game.

Clayton State pulled within five, but the Pacers slowly stretched the lead to double figures. After the home team trimmed USC Aiken's lead to single digits late in the contest, Wright hit a jumper for a 10-point edge with 2:47 to go. Larsen and Butler ended any thought of a comeback by throwing down back-to-back thunderous dunks.   

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play host to Young Harris. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. Prior to the contest, Zimmerman will be honored for leading Division II in made three-point field goals and made three-point field goals per game from a season ago.