AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a 95-79 contest to Augusta Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 10-6 overall and 7-5 in league play.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was paced by Doniel Dean's game-high 27 points and five assists. He also snagged five boards and had three steals.

Markus Terry was the only other Pacer in double figures. He netted 18 points on seven-of-14 shooting, including four-of-eight from downtown.

Faison Brock tallied eight points and seven rebounds while Robert Hill garnered eight points, five rebounds, four blocks and a steal.

The Pacers jumped out to an 11-4 lead off a dunk by Hill from a pass from Dean just 2:45 into the game. Leading 14-6, Paris Ballinger nailed a three-ball for a double-digit margin. Kyle Tackeberry's three-ball pushed the advantage to 15 at 23-8 with 12:31 to go in the half, but the Jaguars slowly got back into the game. A late foul on USC Aiken gave the visitors two free throw attempts with less than a second to go in the half. The Jaguars made one, knotting the contest at 41-41 at the break.

Augusta managed to net 13 of the first 16 points of the second half for a 54-44 lead. USC Aiken pulled within eight on a three-point shot from Tackeberry at the 12:27 mark, making it 60-52. With the score at 67-56, Terry nailed a shot from distance with 9:56 to go. However, that was as close as the team could get the rest of the way.   

For the game, USC Aiken hit 30-of-66 from the floor (45.5 percent), including 12-of-31 from downtown (38.7 percent).

The Pacers return to action Saturday at Young Harris. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.