PEMBROKE, N.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a 77-72 overtime contest at UNC Pembroke Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 16-7 overall, including a 10-6 mark against conference competition. The Braves improve to 18-7 on the year and 11-5 against league foes.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Mark Matthews' game-high 21 points. He also snagged 10 rebounds for a double-double performance.

Henry Bolton III totaled 17 points before fouling out in the extra period. Christian Nobles accounted for 11 points while Austin Grimes totaled 10 markers. Nobles also dished out seven assists.  

Kevin Chuisseu pulled down 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Robert Hill tallied 10 boards in the contest.

USC Aiken trailed 9-2 before Bolton III nailed a three-pointer. Moments later, the Pacers rattled off five straight points, knotting the contest at 15-15. The squads traded the next eight points.

After a three-ball by the Braves, Matthews hit a lay-up, making it a 22-21 contest. Matthews was not done. He rattled off the next five points for a 26-22 advantage with 1:12 to play in the opening half.

UNC Pembroke pulled within two at 26-24, but Vanderslice's team took the momentum into intermission due to the hot hand of Matthews. Nobles got past his defender and kicked the ball out to his right. Matthews took the pass and quickly flicked the ball off his fingertips for a three-point shot as time expired in the half for a 29-24 lead.

USC Aiken stretched its advantage to nine on a lay-up by Matthews at the 17:40 mark, but the Braves slowly climbed back into the game. At the 14:01 mark, UNC Pembroke hit a pair of free throws to take a 38-37 lead.

The Braves took a 54-49 lead with 7:20 to go, but Grimes hit a jumper and a lay-up, pulling the visitors within one at 54-53. Nobles gave the Pacers a one-point working margin at the 5:08 mark. However, the home squad regained a lead and held a three-point advantage with just over two minutes to play until Nobles buried a three-pointer. The teams traded foul shots to make it a 63-63 contest.

Paris Ballinger converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 22 seconds to go, but UNC Pembroke forced overtime with a three-point shot with 10 seconds to go.

Nobles gave USC Aiken a 70-69 lead with 2:34 to play in overtime but the Braves went on an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 27-of-72 from the floor (37.5 percent), including five-of-26 from the three-point stripe (19.2 percent). The Pacers also hit 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) from the charity stripe.

USC Aiken totaled 50 rebounds in the game, including 17 on the offensive glass.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Lander. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. Live stats will be available at PacerSports.com.