AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team needed a late rally to defeat Paine, 75-71, in a non-conference contest Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 3-0 on the season while the Lions fall to 1-3.

Jalin Barnes and Christian Nobles paced head coach Mark Vanderslice's team with 18 points apiece. Henry Bolton III registered a double-double with 14 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds. Paris Ballinger converted a pair of three-point shots en route to a nine-point performance.

Bolton led the victors with a game-best six assists while Barnes and Robert Hill blocked three shots apiece.

For the game, USC Aiken registered 38 points in the paint compared to 20 by the visitors. Vanderslice's squad held a 13-4 advantage on the break.

The Pacers shot 28-of-71 from the floor (39.4 percent), but held the Lions to 24-of-70 shooting (34.3 percent).

USC Aiken found itself trailing by as many as seven during a couple stretches, including with 10:04 to go in the opening stanza. However, Austin Grimes sliced past the defense off a pass from Ballinger, making it a 19-14 game. Raheem Freeman netted a jumper in the lane, trimming the deficit to three, 19-16.

Although the Lions extended the margin to six, 26-20, Ballinger hit a three-ball and Bolton III connected on an inside shot. Ballinger's fast break lay-up gave the home squad a 27-26 advantage with 4:38 to play in the half. The Pacers closed the period with a 34-32 lead.

Vanderslice's squad attacked the basket and managed to get a lot of open looks in the second half. Hill's lay-up off a pass from Ballinger made the score 59-44 as USC Aiken raced out of halftime by netted 25 of the first 37 points. Grimes made it a 60-44 contest with 11:16 to play, but the visitors fought back.

Paine slowly whittled the margin to eight with 7:39 to go. With just 3:54 to play, a free throw knotted the score at 64-64. The Lions took a four-point edge with 2:21 to play before Barnes took over.

Barnes hit a jumper at the 2:03 mark before Kevin Chuisseu hit one-of-two charity tosses. Bolton III nailed a lay-up, putting the host school up 69-68.

After a three-pointer tied the contest with 70 seconds to play, Barnes took a pass from Bolton III and nailed a three-ball for a 72-69 edge. Paine pulled within one, but Barnes hit a pair of free throws for the four-point win.

The Pacers return to action Saturday, Nov. 26, when they hit the road for a contest at Florida Southern at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.