Throughout the 2018-19 season, the USC Aiken Athletic Communications office will provide weekly notes, giving all of Pacer Nation an in-depth look at the team. 

Closing Speed

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team has what some would say is "Closing Speed," and it showed in the win over Georgia College. The Pacers trailed by 11 with 9:51 to play and promptly embarked on a 13-5 spurt to make it 75-72 at the 7:14 mark. Then, the squad did not allow a field goal over the final 6:14 en route to the win.

They Are Called Free Throws For A Reason

The Pacers managed to get to the line 21 times in the win over Georgia College. Collectively, the team buried 17 shots. In all, the team hit on 81 percent of the attempts, making six-of-eight in the first half and 11-of-13 in the second stanza.

Dialing It Up From Downtown

When it looked like Georgia College would pull away in the early going of the first half, key shots by the Pacers kept the team in the ball game before everything clicked on all cylinders. Time and time again, USC Aiken would hit a shot from downtown, trimming a deficit from five to two, from four to one, etc., in the first half. In all, the Pacers made seven-of-15 from downtown in the opening period (46.7 percent).

So Many Steals

USC Aiken doubled the amount of thefts Georgia College had in the victory last week. The Pacers totaled 14 to seven by the Bobcats. The eye-popping number came via Ty'lik Evans, who registered a career-high seven steals, which is the second-most steals by a Pacer in the program's Division II history.

Fast Start

Xzavier Barmore helped USC Aiken jump out to a fast start in the win over Georgia Southwestern. He accounted for five points while the Pacers registered a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. 

Overcoming A Deficit

For the second consecutive game, USC Aiken overcame a double-digit second-half deficit en route to earning a victory. The squad trailed by 13 with 18:10 to play, but managed to secure the eight-point victory by pouring in 55 second-half points in the 77-69 win over the Hurricanes. 

Closing Time 

The Pacers trailed 69-67 with 1:55 to play. However, the stifling defense held the Hurricanes without another point. USC Aiken forced the visitors into three turnovers in the final 105 seconds while pouring in 10 points for the eight-point victory.

Inside The Numbers 

This week, USC Aiken plays at Columbus State on Wednesday, Dec. 5, before hosting Paine on Saturday, Dec. 8. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 108-115 (48.4 percent) in Wednesday games and 186-161 (53.6 percent) in Saturday contests. During that same time, the squad is 6-1 on Dec. 5 and 0-2 on Dec. 8.

Against The Opponents

This week, USC Aiken plays at Columbus State on Wednesday, Dec. 5, before hosting Paine on Saturday, Dec. 8. The Pacers trail the all-time series 30-19 to the Cougars, but have won the last two outings. USC Aiken and Paine are tied in the all-time series 10-10, but the Pacers hold a 9-3 edge in the Convocation Center.