YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a 96-70 decision at Young Harris Saturday afternoon in the Peach Belt Conference opener.

The Pacers are now 6-2 on the year and 0-1 against league teams. The Mountain Lions are 7-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Christian Nobles led everyone with a game-high 25 points. He also snagged a team-best seven rebounds to go along with a couple of assists and a steal in 27 minutes of action.

Henry Bolton III netted 13 points while Jalin Barnes contributed 10 in the loss. Mark Matthews had seven points while Paris Ballinger had six before fouling out.

Nobles opened the game on a shot from downtown just 17 seconds in for a 3-0 advantage. The Mountain Lions netted five straight points, but a steal and jumper by Nobles evened the contest at 11-11 at the 15:35 mark.

YHC pushed ahead and registered a 10-point lead at 34-24, but Ballinger's jumper sliced the deficit to eight, 34-26. Although the home team increased the margin to 13, head coach Mark Vanderslice's team continued to fight, trimming the deficit to just six points at 39-33.

Nobles canned two free throws to make it 39-31 and then Matthews took a pass from Nobles and converted the inside scoop to make it 39-33.

The teams traded points for much of the rest of the first half, but a layup by the home team extended its margin to seven, 46-39, at the half.

A three-ball from Barnes off a pass from Bolton III 37 seconds into the second half sliced the deficit to just four, 46-42. However, that was as close as Vanderslice's team could get as YHC reeled off the next six points.

USC Aiken made it a five-point game when Matthews connected on a lay-up and hit the free throw for an old-fashioned play, but a 9-0 run by the home squad made it a 61-49 contest. The Pacers were unable to pull within single digits the rest of the way.  

For the game, USC Aiken hit 27-of-80 shots from the floor (33.8 percent), including a six-of-2 effort (23.1 percent) from downtown. The team connected on 10-of-21 from the charity stripe (47.6 percent).

The Pacers return to action Monday when they travel to Clayton State for a 7:30 p.m., tip. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.