GREENWOOD, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to earn an 87-81 road win at Lander Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 17-7 overall, including an 11-6 record in league play.

Mark Matthews led everyone with 25 points while Henry Bolton III and Christian Nobles netted 22 and 21, respectively.

Paris Ballinger came off the bench and tallied seven points while Robert Hill accounted for six.

Over the final 20 minutes of action, Matthews, Bolton III and Nobles combined for 44 of the team's 54 second-half markers.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team trailed 8-0 to start the game. The team trailed 42-33 at halftime.

The Pacers were down by 15 with just under 11 minutes to play. Ballinger got everything going, hitting back-to-back lay-ups. Bolton III hit a free throw, made a lay-up and hit a three-point bucket on three straight USC Aiken possessions, helping the team pull within eight, 69-61, with 7:36 to go.

Nobles converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 6:30 to play and hit another inside shot, making it a 71-66 contest with 5:38 on the clock.

Down by six with 2:31 to play, the Pacers reeled off seven straight points, the last two coming from the right hand of Matthews, for an 80-79 edge with 1:28 left in the game.

A lay-up by the Bearcats gave the home team an 81-70 advantage, but Matthews canned a three-ball off a pass from Nobles. Nobles hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to go up four. Lander missed a three-point shot and Faison Brock snagged the board. He hit a pair of free throws for the final margin.   

For the game, USC Aiken buried 33-of-57 from the floor (57.9 percent), including nine-of-20 from downtown (45 percent). The squad connected on 12-of-19 from the charity stripe (63.2 percent). The Pacers out-rebounded the Bearcats 32-25.

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