AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost an 83-77 decision to Armstrong State Wednesday evening in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 3-15 on the season and 1-10 against conference competition. The Pirates are 7-11 overall and 5-6 against league foes.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Tavares Sledge's double-double with a game-high 23 points and game-best 13 rebounds. He also dished out a team-high four assists and blocked a game-high two shots.

Arbry Butler accounted for 11 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards. Jevon Patton tallied 15 points and three assists while Keith Belfield netted 14 markers.

Andrew Glover came off the bench to hit a pair of three-point shots. Hendrix Emu totaled five points and Glen Campbell buried a three-pointer in the contest.

USC Aiken jumped out to an 8-2 lead after Belfield connected on back-to-back three-point shots with 17:25 to go in the half. An old-fashioned three-point play by Butler made it 11-6 just over a minute later.

After the Pirates tied the contest, the teams went back-and-forth for much of the opening stanza. Trailing 38-33, Sledge made the second of his free throw attempts with 3:12 to play. Two possessions later, Sledge drained a deep three-pointer off a pass from Gavin Stephenson, making it a 38-37 contest with 2:09 to go.

The Pacers converted a turnover into a pair of free throws by Sledge for a 39-38 margin at the 1:38 mark and eventually a one-point lead at the break.

Armstrong State came out of intermission and took a 44-39 lead, but Patton and Campbell answered with back-to-back three-pointers for a 45-44 advantage. The Pirates regained the lead at 54-51, but Sledge answered back with a jumper off a pass from Patton. Sledge's lay-up at the 12:25 mark gave the home squad a 55-54 advantage, but it proved to be the Pacers' last lead of the night.

The Pirates took a 60-55 lead with 11:13 to play, but Vanderslice's team pulled within one after a pair of charity tosses by Belfield.

USC Aiken tied the game at 66 after a 5-0 run thanks in part to a three-pointer by Glover and a jumper by Patton with 5:43 to play, but the Pirates answered with a three-pointer on the next possession.

The Pacers pulled within one at 69-68, but it was as close as the squad could come. Trailing 79-74 with 34 seconds to play, Glover drilled a three-pointer from the wing off a pass from Belfield. Forced to foul, the Pirates answered with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds to play. A missed three-pointer and another two charity tosses by the visitors made the final score a six-point margin. 

For the game, USC Aiken hit 27-of-67 from the floor (40.3 percent), including 10-of-23 from downtown (43.5 percent). The squad got to the line 17 times, connecting on 13 attempts.

USC Aiken forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 17 points. Vanderslice's team had 19 second-chance points and maintained a 26-20 edge in the paint.  

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Young Harris at 3:30 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available at PacerSports.com.