AIKEN, S.C. - The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost an 88-69 contest at GRU Augusta Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 13-15 on the season. The squad wrapped up conference play with an 8-11 mark. The Jaguars finished the regular season with a 22-5 mark and a 15-4 ledger against league competition.

André Anthony and Dominic Early each contributed 18 points for head coach Vince Alexander's team. Tyreece Brice contributed 10 points off the bench. He also added five rebounds in the contest.

Jordan Foster tallied nine points while Arbry Butler accounted for eight points, seven rebounds and a game-high four blocks.

USC Aiken connected on 21-of-55 field goal attempts (38.2 percent), but managed to hit nine-of-21 (42.9 percent) from the three-point stripe. Alexander's squad was solid from the foul line, draining 18-of-23 (78.3 percent). 

The Pacers won the opening tip and Early promptly threw a lob to Butler, who hammered home a dunk just 13 seconds into the game. GRU Augusta tallied nine straight points before Anthony ended the spurt with a deep three-point bucket off a pass from Rashad Lewis.

Although the Jaguars managed to take a 24-point lead into the break, Alexander's squad played much better in the second half. The team outscored GRU Augusta 45-40 over the final 20 minutes of action. 

During that time, the Pacers drilled 14-of-24 shots from the floor (58.3 percent). Half of the made field goals from the floor were from long distance. Eleven of the field goals were via assists and USC Aiken forced five turnovers while committing just four.

The team will now face Montevallo in the opening round of the PBC Tournament on Saturday. The Pacers travel to Montevallo for the second time this season. USC Aiken lost 73-59 to the Falcons on Jan. 19. Game time is slated for 8 p.m., EST.