SAVANNAH, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team dropped a 75-60 contest at Armstrong State Saturday afternoon in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 2-8 on the year and 0-3 against league competition. The Pirates improve to 4-6 overall and 2-1 against conference foes.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was guided by Arbry Butler's season-high 23 points on nine-of-13 shooting from the floor. He was a rebound shy of a double-double. Jevon Patton poured in 16 points while Keith Belfield contributed 10 markers.

Gavin Stephenson netted six points while Hendrix Emu added five. Emu also snagged a game-best 11 rebounds in the outing.

The teams battled to a 7-7 draw just 2:32 into the game after Patton hit a jumper to tie it. That sparked a 6-0 run by Vanderslice's team as Butler canned a short jumper and Belfield hit a pair of free throws.

After the Pirates pulled within one at 11-10, Stephenson made a twisting lay-up and Patton converted a three-pointer for a 16-10 edge. Armstrong State pulled within four, but Butler found Emu for a jumper. The Pirates answered with a basket, but Stephenson found Butler for a dunk at the 12:11 mark and a 20-14 margin.

With the score at 20-18 in favor of the visitors, Butler connected on a shot in the lane at the 9:09 mark. Emu grabbed a defensive board and Patton drained a deep three-pointer from the wing for a 25-18 advantage with 8:26 to play before intermission.

The teams traded the next eight points, but the Pirates managed to go on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. USC Aiken pulled within three at 36-33 when Butler hit a charity toss for the final point of the first half.

The Pacers pulled within one on a pair of occasions in the second stanza, with the last one coming as Butler converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 12:44 mark, making the score 45-44. The Pirates, however, went on an 18-0 run to secure the victory.

For the game, USC Aiken canned 22-of-46 shots from the floor (47.8 percent). The squad netted just three-of-15 from downtown (20 percent) and made 13-of-22 from the charity stripe (59.1 percent).

The team was out-rebounded 38-34. Each squad tallied 24 points in the paint.

The Pacers return to action Monday at Flagler. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.