AIKEN, S.C. – The No. 22 University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit en route to an 87-85 victory over Georgia College Wednesday evening in the PBC opener for both teams.

The Pacers are now 6-0 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Bobcats fall to 4-2 overall and 0-1 against conference foes.

Xzavier Barmore led the way with a game-best 27 points to go along with six assists, three steals and two blocks. Ty'lik Evans registered 19 points, seven steals and five assists. The seven steals are the second most in USC Aiken's Division II history.

Doniel Dean accounted for 17 points and nine boards while Myles Washington came off the bench to account for 10 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes of work.

After trailing for much of the first half, Evans knotted the score at 33-33 with 4:23 to play on a shot from downtown off a pass from Washington. The Bobcats scored the next four points in just 68 seconds for a 37-33 advantage.

Down 45-39, Robert Hill converted a lay-up and Evans made a pair of free throws with four seconds to play before half, making it a 45-43 contest. However, a three-pointer at the buzzer near the mid-court stripe by the visitors made it a 48-43 game at the break.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team tied the game at 52 on a steal and lay-up by Barmore at the 16:52 mark of the second half. Barmore netted the next four points, pushing the score to 56-52 in favor of the Pacers.

Georgia College embarked on an 18-3 run for what seemed like a commanding 70-59 margin with 9:51 to play.

Down by 10, 75-65, Washington stepped up and hit a three-ball. Brock made a pair of free throws and Evans registered a steal and lay-up, pulling the team within three at 75-72 with 7:14 to go. Dean's free throws shortly thereafter knotted the score at 77-77.

Brock's runner in the paint off a pass from Barmore gave USC Aiken an 81-79 edge. After a made free throw by the visitors, Dean hit a jumper for an 83-80 advantage.

The Pacers' lead dwindled to one, 85-84, with 2:19 to play but strong defense down the stretch did not allow the Bobcats to make another shot from the floor. Barmore's jumper with 1:10 to go made it 87-84 – and a mere free throw with less than a second to play resulted in the 87-85 victory.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 30-of-70 from the floor (42.9 percent), including 10-of-27 from downtown (37 percent). The squad connected on 17-of-21 from the charity stripe (81 percent).  

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Georgia Southwestern at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.