AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken saw its 11-game home winning streak snapped with an 80-76 loss to Winston-Salem State Saturday evening in the final game of the Tip-Off Classic.

The Pacers are now 3-2 on the season.

Leading the way for head coach Vince Alexander's team was André Anthony's game-high 20 points. He narrowly missed a double-double with his nine rebounds.

Dominic Early registered 15 points and nine rebounds while Keith Belfield garnered 13 points. Rashad Lewis added 11 while Caleb Stewart came off the bench to fire for seven.

USC Aiken drilled 22-of-57 shots from the floor (38.6 percent) while holding the Rams to 36.6 percent shooting. However, the Pacers were out-rebounded 46-42, including a 20-13 effort on the offensive glass. Alexander's team also had 19 turnovers while forcing just 11. The visitors capitalized with 24 points off turnovers while Alexander's team had just nine.

USC Aiken found itself trailing by 10 just 5:47 into the contest, but Lewis drained a three-pointer, trimming the deficit to seven. However, the Pacers were unable to get much closer until Stewart converted a lay-up with 8:12 to go in the half, pulling the team within four at 25-21.

After another Stewart charity toss at the 6:51 mark, Anthony's three-ball evened the score with just over six minutes to go. Anthony connected on four of the next six points of the game for a 29-27 lead with 4:55 to play in the opening stanza.  Tavarez Hall made the last shot of the half, giving the home team a 38-35 lead going into intermission.

The Pacers opened the second half with an 11-1 spurt, giving the team a 13-point edge at 49-36 with 18:08 to go. However, after a technical foul was whistled on the Rams, the visitors slowly started whittling the margin to single digits.

USC Aiken was ahead 59-52 at the 10:45 mark, but five straight points by the Rams trimmed the margin to just two. Early answered with a lay-up, but five straight points by the visitors gave them a 62-61 lead with 8:18 to play.

The squads battled back and forth and the Pacers held a 62-62 advantage only to see the Rams score seven straight points for a lead they would not relinquish.

USC Aiken made it a two-point contest on Anthony's three-point shot with 1:11 to play, but Alexander's team was unable to snag a couple of rebounds. The team was forced to foul and the Rams managed to hit their free throws in the final minute.

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they travel to Paine for a 7 p.m. contest.

All Tip-Off Classic Team
Kenney Funderburk – MVP
Ty Harris
WyKevin Bazemore
C.J. Ford
André Anthony
Dominic Early