AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost an 84-74 decision to Montevallo Monday afternoon in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 3-13 overall and 1-8 against league foes. The Falcons improve to 10-6 on the year and 6-3 against conference competition.

Senior Tavares Sledge led head coach Mark Vanderslice's team with his first double-double of the season. He accounted for a team-high 19 points and a game-best 12 rebounds.

Arbry Butler had a superb game with 18 points, eight rebounds and a game-high seven blocks. He also dished out four assists in the contest. Keith Belfield notched 16 points and three boards in 35 minutes of work.

Jevon Patton totaled eight points and a game-best six assists while Gavin Stephenson and Glen Campbell chipped in six points and two points, respectively.

Trailing 2-0, Sledge buried a three-pointer off a pass from Belfield for a 3-2 lead at the 18:28 mark. Montevallo went on a 5-0 spurt, but Sledge hit a jumper and Hendrix Emu canned a deep three-pointer for an 8-7 edge with 14:50 to play in the half.

The squads battled back-and-forth for much of the opening period, but Vanderslice's team was unable to take another lead. However, the team tied the contest on several occasions.

Tied at 15-15, Montevallo went on a 12-3 spurt that opened up a 27-18 advantage with 5:26 to go in the half. USC Aiken went into the intermission down 38-29.

Vanderslice's fiery talk at halftime was fuel for the team. USC Aiken sliced the margin to five at 46-41 after Butler hit a pair of free throws. The Pacers slowly trimmed the deficit to three with 10:24 to go when Patton buried a three-pointer with time about to expire on the shot clock.

USC Aiken once again pulled within three when Butler found Belfield for a jumper at the 7:02 mark, but a 56-53 score was as close as the team would get the rest of the way. The Falcons reeled off 12 of the next 13 points before the Pacers were forced to foul.

The visitors hit the majority of their free throws, allowing Montevallo to hold on for a win that was closer than the score.  

For the game, USC Aiken connected on 25-of-61 shots from the floor (41 percent), including a nine-of-31 effort from downtown (29 percent). The team hit 15-of-20 from the charity stripe (75 percent).

Each team pulled down 33 rebounds and the Pacers held a 14-10 edge in assists. USC Aiken maintained an 11-7 edge in second-chance points.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Francis Marion. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.