AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 76-74 contest to North Georgia Saturday afternoon on a last second shot.

The Pacers fall to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in league play. The Nighthawks improve to 5-7 overall and 3-3 against conference foes.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was paced by Doniel Dean's game-high 23 points. Robert Hill accounted for 13 points and seven rebounds to go along with a game-best three blocks.

Henry Bolton III added 12 points and six boards while Markus Terry chipped in 11 points.

Faison Brock was outstanding on the glass, snagging a game-best 12 boards.

In the first half, Dean opened the game with four straight points before Hill hit a bucket. Two free throws from Dean and a lay-up by Brock pushed the score to 10-3 with 16:33 to go. 

Leading 15-5, Terry hit a jumper for a 12-point edge. Holding a 19-9 margin, Kyle Tackeberry snagged a rebound and put back a shot for a 12-point lead with 7:56 to go. Hill's lay-up off a pass from Dean made it 23-9 for the team's largest advantage of the half with 7:19 to play.

The Nighthawks pulled within five, but Hill's back-to-back tip-ins made it a 30-21 game. The squad maintained a 10-point lead at the break after a runner from Dean with four ticks on the clock.

USC Aiken saw its lead dwindle in the second half as the visitors erased a 46-35 deficit with 16:02 to play. The Nighthawks took a 66-65 lead with 3:52 to play. A turnover by Vanderslice's team and an old-fashioned three-point play by the visitors pushed it to 69-65.

Trailing 72-65, Dean hit two free throws. Terry converted a lay-up to make it 72-69. Down 73-69, Dean hit a jumper. Trailing 74-71, Terry buried a jumper with 16 seconds to go. The Nighthawks missed a free throw and Dean tied it up, hitting the first of two charity tosses. After missing the second attempt with seven seconds to play, the visitors hit the game-winner as time expired.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 27-of-69 from the floor (39.1 percent), including six-of-30 from downtown (20 percent). The squad connected on 14-of-21 from the charity stripe (66.7 percent).

Vanderslice's team controlled the lane 40-26 and held a 13-10 margin in second chance points. 

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they travel to Flagler for a 5:30 p.m., contest. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.