COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 7 University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team defeated Georgia Southwestern by a 78-63 count Saturday evening in the PBC Semifinals.

The Pacers improve to 28-3 overall with the win.

Leading the way for head coach Vince Alexander's team was Paul Larsen, who poured in a game-best 25 points to go along with 12 boards for his second consecutive double-double of the tournament.

Ronald Zimmerman hit for 15 points while DeVontae Wright added a double-double of his own by tallying 13 points and game-best 10 assists.

For the game, USC Aiken connected on 27-of-56 shots (48.2 percent) from the floor, including five-o-11 (45.5 percent) from downtown. The squad was nearly flawless at the line, draining 19-of-23 (82.6 percent).

The Pacers out-rebounded the visitors 44-28 and dished out 15 assists to the Hurricanes' nine. USC Aiken swatted away six shots, including five by PBC Defensive Player of the Year Alvin Brown.  The Pacers also held a 32-24 advantage in the paint and held an 18-point lead during the contest.

After a Larsen bucket opened the scoring, Zimmerman netted the team's next five points en route to a 7-2 margin. Leading 9-7, USC Aiken embarked on an 11-3 run for a 20-10 advantage. However, Georgia Southwestern reeled off 12 straight, taking a one-point edge.

USC Aiken regained the lead and slowly stretched the score to a 40-31 contest when Zimmerman buried a tough fade-away. The Hurricanes pulled within six at the break, 42-36.

Alexander's team pushed its lead to double figures when Brown converted an old-fashioned three-point play off a tip-in and a foul shot, making it 49-38. The margin hovered around 10 points until the under-eight minute media time-out.

With just 5:01 to play, the Hurricanes made it a seven-point ballgame only to see Wright snag a defensive rebound and convert both foul shots after he was hacked.

USC Aiken converted the next four points – all of which were free throws – before Larsen reeled off the final five points of the game for the Pacers off a lay-up, free throw and a tip-in.

The Pacers return to action Sunday when they take on Montevallo in the PBC Championship contest. Tip is slated for 4:30 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available at PacerSports.com.