AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken dropped a hard-fought 69-65 overtime contest to Anderson in the home opener Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 1-2 on the young season.

Rookie Emry Tsitouris poured in a game-high 18 points and corralled a game-best 16 rebounds in 28 minutes of work. Mariah Durian netted 17 points and registered a game-high four thefts. Mackenzie Reese connected for 13 markers while Kate Duff chipped in eight in the loss. Katelyn Grisillo dished out four assists.

Defensively, Kassy Johannsen blocked a career-high eight shots in just 27 minutes of action.

Head coach Mike Brandt's team jumped out to a 13-6 edge after trailing 4-2. Durian got things going during the run, draining a three-pointer off a pass from Reese. Tsitouris converted an old-fashioned three-point play for an 8-4 lead. After a bucket by the Trojans, Reese netted a lay-up before Kate Duff found the bottom of the net for a 13-6 margin.

Although Anderson trimmed the margin to two at 13-11, the Pacers pushed the score to 20-13 on Durian's jumper at the 8:24 mark. The Trojans pulled within two with 6:48 to go, but Reese and Durian combined for the next five points, making it a 27-20 contest.

Anderson embarked on a 9-0 run that spanned 4:02, but Durian's free throw with two seconds to play made it a one-point deficit at the break for the home team.

USC Aiken trailed 35-28 just 2:32 into the second half, but after a time-out, Brandt's team trimmed the margin to just two at 35-33 on a three-point play by Tsitouris. The Pacers held the Trojans scoreless on the next two possessions and took a one-point lead on Durian's floater in the lane. Durian converted a foul shot for a 37-35 advantage and buried a jumper on the next time down the court for a four-point lead.

However, USC Aiken was unable to hit a few shots as the visitors connected and eventually took a 53-47 lead with just over four minutes to play in regulation.

Brandt's team fought back as Tsitouris hit a jumper. After a basket by the Trojans, Duff hit a pair of charity tosses, trimming the deficit to four. She then drained a three-point attempt, making it a one-point game with 1:54 to go.

Reese made one of two charity tosses prior to Johannsen netted a jumper with 40 ticks to play. Johannsen rebounded a miss and Grisillo connected on a pair of free throws for a 59-55 lead with 16 seconds to play.

Anderson hit a three and USC Aiken managed to hit just one-of-two charity tosses for a 60-58 lead. The Trojans hit a jumper with two-tenths of a second remaining in regulation and scored the first five points of overtime.

USC Aiken cut the deficit to just one when Reese drained a deep three with 19 seconds remaining, but Anderson netted three-of-four foul shots to secure the win.

For the game, USC Aiken hit just 22-of-70 from the floor (31.4 percent), including a six-of-24 effort (25 percent) from downtown. Brandt's team was out-rebounded 58-47. The Trojans tallied 23 points off 17 turnovers while the Pacers totaled 10 points off 20 miscues.

The Pacers return to action Saturday at 5 p.m., when they host Barton. It is the middle game of a tripleheader in the Convocation Center.