DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The No. 5 University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team connected on a school-record 20 three-point shots in the 96-88 victory at North Georgia Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 13-1 on the year and 7-1 in league action. The Nighthawks are 6-5 overall and 1-5 against conference competition.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by a game-high effort 29 points from Ty'lik Evans. He connected on seven-of-14 shots from downtown in the win. Xzavier Barmore hit six-of-nine from distance en route to a 26-point performance while Doniel Dean accounted for 16 points. Faison Brock chipped in 12 markers.

Barmore dished out four assists while Evans had three. Dean, Evans and Robert Hill had two steals apiece.  

USC Aiken jumped out to a 13-2 lead just 2:04 into the game. Tied at 2-2, Evans nailed a three-point shot. After a jumper by Hill, Evans pushed the lead to 10-2 on another shot from downtown. Evans found Brock for a three-ball and a 13-point edge.

Leading 24-19, Vanderslice's squad rattled off the next seven points. Barmore hit a free throw before Brock buried a three-ball off a pass from Evans. Kyle Tackeberry extended the margin to 12 on a deep three-point shot with 11:02 to play. USC Aiken maintained an advantage throughout the rest of the half and carried a 49-39 lead into the break after Barmore found Evans for the final three points of the stanza.

The Nighthawks embarked on a 7-0 run to start the second half to make it 49-46, but USC Aiken quickly regrouped and went on an 8-0 run. During the spurt, Barmore converted a three-point play. He then assisted on a three-point bucket by Evans before finishing the spurt on a lay-up. Moments later, Dean's lay-up at the 14:49 mark extended the lead to 16 at 64-48.

Leading 73-53, USC Aiken saw its double-digit margin dwindle to nine after an 11-0 run by the Nighthawks. However, Evans nailed a straight-away three-point shot to make it 76-64 with 8:33 to go.

The game remained close and with the Pacers ahead 82-79, Barmore pushed the lead to six on a three-point shot. Up 85-80, Dean and Brock hit back-to-back lay-ups to make it 89-80 with 2:54 remaining.

The Pacers hit their free throws down the stretch to register the eight-point victory.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 33-of-65 from the floor (50.8 percent), including 20-of-40 from downtown (50.0 percent).

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host Flagler at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.