Box Score FLORENCE, S.C. – The No. 13 University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team led 2-0 before the opening tip thanks in part to a technical foul and easily posted its 12th consecutive victory with a 91-73 win at Francis Marion Saturday afternoon.
The Pacers are now 17-2 overall, including a 9-0 mark against Peach Belt Conference competition.
Senior Jesse Seilern had a huge day for head coach Vince Alexander's team as he netted a game-high 20 points on seven-of-12 shooting from the floor. Floor general DeVontae Wright added 17 markers and added a team-high six assists. Paul Larsen notched 16 points and eight rebounds while Rick Alderman came off the bench to pour in a season-high 15 points, including a seven-for-eight effort from the charity stripe.
USC Aiken sizzled from the floor, connecting on 33-of-52 shots for the contest (63.5 percent), including a six-of-14 effort (42.9 percent) from downtown. For good measure, the Pacers buried 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) from the foul line.
Alexander's team out-rebounded the home squad 33-24.
Before the game started, a technical foul was issued to Francis Marion. Wright calmly sank both free throws. The squad raced to a 16-2 advantage as Wright tallied eight and Alvin Brown netted four during the run.
However, the Patriots rallied back to take a 28-26 lead with 5:09 to play in the opening half. The lead changed twice more before Alderman's lay-up off a pass from Brown gave the Pacers the lead for the rest of the period at 32-31. Seilern buried a three on the next possession. Then, Brown blocked a shot and Wright drained a fast break jumper for a 37-31 lead. Seilern's pull-up three pushed the margin to nine at 40-31 and USC Aiken claimed a 40-36 lead at the break.
It was tied at 42 early in the second half but Seilern's free throw gave the Pacers a 43-42 advantage with 18 minutes to go in the game. Ronald Zimmerman's three-pointer at the 12:57 mark pushed the margin to 11 at 57-46.
The Patriots cut the lead to single digits once more, but it did not last long. With just 27 seconds remaining, Hendrix Emu canned two free throws for the Pacers' largest lead of the game at 91-73.
The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they play at Flagler. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
