WILSON, N.C. – With some tremendous defense in the closing seconds, the University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team secured an 89-86 victory at Barton College in the 45-Second Classic Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 1-1 on the young season.

Leading by three points with four seconds to play, Dominic Early deflected the in-bounds pass back out of bounds. After three-tenths of a second was taken off the clock, Early once again set up to defend the Bulldogs' player attempting to throw the ball in. This time, Early managed to get a hand on it, tipped it and chased it down before securing the ball. He was fouled and despite missing the free throws on the bonus, the USC Aiken defense did not allow a last-second heave from the Bulldogs.

The Pacers found themselves trailing 6-0 2:12 into the game, but it marked the largest deficit the squad would face the entire game. Tyreece Brice's free throw knotted the contest at 8-8 with 12:49 to go in the first half. Early's lay-up off an offensive rebound gave USC Aiken its first lead of the contest.

After the teams traded leads, Keith Belfield drained his second straight three-point shot, tying the contest at 22. However, the Bulldogs embarked on a 5-0 run for a 27-22 lead.

The Pacers pulled within one, but Barton was able to stretch the margin to three, 31-28. Rashad Lewis made a pair of free throws with 2:51 to play, making it a 31-30 contest. André Anthony sliced through the defense for a lay-up and a one-point edge.

USC Aiken was whistled for a foul and the home team made a pair of free throws, but Lewis answered with a deep three-pointer, giving the team the lead for good. Anthony's lay-up pushed the margin to six at 44-38 and head coach Vince Alexander's team went into the locker room with a 44-40 advantage.

Leading  54-46, Lewis connected on a lay-up for a double-digit margin. Although a jumper trimmed the score to 56-48, Keith Belfield pushed the margin back to 10. Grant Harris hit a pair of free throws and Early slammed home a pass from Brice for the 62-48 lead.

Barton pulled within one on two occasions, but USC Aiken calmly connected on shots from the charity stripe as Keith Belfield and Jordan Foster each scored from the line in the final six seconds.

Keith Belfield led the team with 22 points to go along with seven boards. Anthony netted 20 markers while Lewis (13 points), Dominic Early (11 points) and Brice (10 points) all scored in double figures.

For the game, USC Aiken canned 28-of-65 shots from the floor (43.1 percent), including a nine-of-27 effort from downtown (33.3 percent). The squad hit 24-of-33 free throws (72.7 percent).

Alexander's team was out-rebounded 41-33, but the defense stepped up, registering seven steals compared to just three by the Bulldogs. USC Aiken forced 21 turnovers and scored 23 points off Barton's miscues.

The team led by as many as 14 points, coming with 13:42 to play in the contest.

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when the squad hosts Southern Wesleyan in the home opener. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.