DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a heartbreaking 80-79 contest at North Georgia Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 10-9 overall and 7-8 in league play. The Nighthawks are now 10-11 overall and 8-7 against conference competition.

Doniel Dean led head coach Mark Vanderslice's team with 18 points. He also snagged five rebounds. Markus Terry registered his 1,000^th career point en route to a 17-point night. Henry Bolton III accounted for 13 points while Darius Bell garnered his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Robert Hill added six points, eight boards and a game-best three blocks.

The entire contest was a back-and-forth affair. The game was tied five times and the lead changed hands three times.

Terry opened the game with a three-ball, giving him 1,001 points for his career. USC Aiken held a 5-2 lead, but the Nighthawks took a 6-5 edge. The home team took a 20-10 lead with 10:51 to play in the first half.

With the score at 36-24, Vanderslice's team went to work. Terry hit a jumper and Bolton III made a pair of free throws. Bell converted a lay-up before Kyle Tackeberry nailed one from distance. A lay-up by Bell made it 36-25 at the break.

USC Aiken saw the deficit grow to four or so several times, but each time the Pacers climbed back to make it a one-point affair. Vanderslice's squad went up by three at 58-55 after a three-pointer by Dean and a jumper by Bell with 11:02 to go.

The game went back-and-forth the rest of the way. Dean's jumper gave the Pacers a 72-71 working margin, but the team quickly fell behind 78-73. USC Aiken embarked on a 6-0 run, taking the lead with 39 seconds to play on a jumper by Dean.

The Nighthawks went ahead with nine seconds to play and Vanderslice's team missed a shot at the buzzer.

For the night, USC Aiken hit 29-of-67 from the floor (43.3 percent), including seven-of-21 from downtown (33.3 percent). The squad also canned 14-of-21 from the field (66.7 percent).

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