DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team garnered a 90-82 road win at North Georgia Monday evening.

The Pacers are now 8-4 overall, including a 2-3 record in Peach Belt Conference play. The Nighthawks fall to 8-6 overall and 4-1 against conference competition.

Leading the way for head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was paced by Jalin Barnes' 24 points. Mark Matthews added a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds while Christian Nobles contributed 14 points.

Henry Bolton III accounted for seven points and a game-best seven assists. Kevin Chuisseu registered eight points.

USC Aiken started off strong. Bolton III hit a three-pointer as did Nobles for a 6-0 advantage at the 17:51 mark. Matthews got into the act with a jumper for an 8-0 lead just 3:10 into the game.

Chuisseu's jumper pushed the margin to 15-6. The Pacers finally made it a 10-point margin when Barnes connected from downtown for an 18-8 lead with 13:18 to play in the first half.

USC Aiken kept it a 10-point working margin when Raheem Freeman buried a three-ball off a pass from Paris Ballinger with 9:00 to go before intermission. Although the Nighthawks pulled within five, a jumper by Matthews made it a 44-37 game heading into the second half.

After the home team pulled within four at 50-46, Bolton III hit a pair of free throws to extend the margin for the Pacers. A three-ball from Matthews off a pass from Nobles pushed the score to 55-46.

From that point forward, USC Aiken held at least an eight-point lead – and extended the score to 14 when Barnes drilled a three-pointer to make it 75-61.

North Georgia fought back and pulled within five at 85-80, but Faison Brock's jumper with 29 ticks remaining pushed the score to 87-80. The home team made it 88-82 with 11 seconds to go but Nobles buried a pair of free throws to close it out.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 31-of-68 from the floor (45.6 percent), including a 15-of-31 effort from downtown (48.4 percent). The team dished out 21 assists on the 31 field goals. The 15 three-pointers marked the third-most field goals made from distance in school history.  

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host Francis Marion at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.