AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team used two strong runs en route to an 88-73 victory over Southern Wesleyan Tuesday evening.

The Pacers are now 2-1 on the season.

Junior Dominic Early led the way with a team-high 28 points and a game-best 12 rebounds. Early was dominant from the field, canning 10-of-12 shots, including a two-of-three effort from behind the three-point stripe.

Junior André Anthony posted 21 markers on a seven-of-12 effort from the floor while fellow newcomer and junior Keith Belfield filled the nets with 17 points.

Head coach Vince Alexander's team drained 31-of-63 shots from the floor (49.2 percent) for the night, including 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) from downtown. The squad forced 19 turnovers, resulting in 28 points.

Although the Pacers found themselves down 4-0 just 52 seconds into the contest, the team knotted the score just over a minute later. Anthony connected on a jumper and Early hit a pair of free throws. Belfield's bucket in the paint gave USC Aiken the lead for good. Early's three-pointer off a pass from Anthony concluded the team's 9-0 spurt.

The Pacers continued their dominant start, rattling off 18 of the next 23 points after falling behind 4-0. During the run, Early, Rashad Lewis and Anthony all buried shots from downtown.

USC Aiken pushed its advantage to 15 when Jordan Foster got into the long-distance act at the 10:31 mark, making the score 28-13.

However, the Warriors slowly sliced into the lead behind Cameron Solomon's play and at the half, USC Aiken led by just six, 47-41.

Alexander's team registered an eight-point lead at 57-49 on Anthony's twisting lay-up, but Southern Wesleyan once again fought back. USC Aiken saw its lead slip to just one point at 61-60 with 12:27 to go, but Early hit a jumper. With the score at 63-62, Belfield hit the first of two charity tosses and Foster connected on a pair from the foul line for a four-point margin.

USC Aiken slowly pushed the lead to double digits with just 1:52 to play when Anthony made the second free throw for an 80-70 advantage. Early added two charity tosses before following it up with a steal and lay-up with 64 seconds to play thanks in part to outstanding defense as the team cruised to the 15-point victory.

The Pacers return to action Friday when they host Elizabeth City State in the second game of the USC Aiken Classic at 7 p.m.