AIKEN, S.C. – The No. 6 University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team used a huge night from Ty'lik Evans and a last-second defensive stand to secure a 90-87 win over UNC Pembroke Wednesday evening.

The Pacers improve to 23-2 on the year and 17-2 in league play. The Braves are now 18-7 overall and 13-6 against conference competition.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was guided by a 32-point, seven steal, five assist, five rebound performance from Evans. He buried nine-of-16 from the floor, including six-of-11 from downtown – and made all eight charity tosses.

Faison Brock poured in 20 points on eight-of-13 shooting while Robert Hill connected on 10 points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. Shaquan Jules garnered eight points while Xzavier Barmore tallied seven points and five assists. Doniel Dean tallied six points, four assists and swatted three shots.

Vanderslice's squad jumped out to a 5-0 edge 1:11 in after a three-ball from Evans and a lay-up from Brock. The lead was pushed to nine when Brock hit a pair of charity tosses to make it 12-3. However, the Braves battled back to take a 31-30 lead with 7:28 to play in the half.

Tied at 39-39, Jules found Brock for a shot from downtown at the 4:17 mark. Evans pulled up for a three-ball before hitting a pair of charity tosses for a six-point edge. Evans hit another three with 12 seconds to go before the half, but the Braves countered with a shot from downtown to pull within two at the break (50-48).

Down 55-54, Evans connected on a three-point shot. Brock hit a lay-up, extending the margin to four at 59-55. UNCP countered, taking a 67-65 lead with 14:02 to play.

Neither team could gain much of an advantage, but the Braves managed to take a 78-72 lead with 7:50 to play. Hill's tip-in off a miss from Barmore cut the deficit to three at 80-77 at the 5:35 mark. Dean's tip-in a moment later pulled the squad within one, but the Braves hit a shot to go up by three, 82-79.

Barmore connected on back-to-back shots for an 83-82 lead before draining a step-back three-point shot to go up four, 86-82. Leading 86-85, Hill tipped in a shot with 51 seconds to go, but a jumper made it a one-point game with 39 seconds to play.

USC Aiken missed a shot with 21 seconds left and UNCP grabbed the rebound. However, Dean recorded a steal and flipped it ahead to Brock for a lay-up with two-tenths of a second to play for the 90-87 victory.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 35-of-71 from the floor (49.3 percent), including nine-of-24 from the three-point stripe (37.5 percent). Vanderslice's team dished out 19 assists and registered 11 thefts. USC Aiken held a 24-8 edge in points off turnovers.

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