AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a 79-71 decision to Augusta Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 12-9 on the year and 8-3 in the league.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Gus Rowland's game-high 20 points and dished out eight assists. Faison Brock had 16 points and five rebounds while Shaquan Jules chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds

Dhieu Deing snagged seven rebounds while Robert Hill swatted away three shots.

After trailing 41-32 at the break, the home squad found itself down 47-36, but Rowland sliced through the defense for a lay-up. On the ensuing play, Rowland found Oliver for a runner, slicing the deficit to seven.

Down by six at 51-45, Rowland converted another bucket before finding Deing on a pull-up three-ball to make it a one-point game. However, the Jaguars scored the next six points before the Pacers raced back.

Trailing 63-59, Jules threw down a thunderous dunk over an Augusta player, pulling the team within two. Brock's jumper knotted the game at 63-63 before Jules once again shook the rim with a powerful dunk.

The Jaguars took a 69-67 lead, but Jules hammered home another dunk, tying it at 69-69. AU netted the next five points, including a banked in three-point shot. Rowland made it a three-point contest, but it was as close as USC Aiken could get the rest of the way.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 27-of-70 from the floor (38.6 percent). The squad connected on 13-of-17 from the charity stripe (76.5 percent). Vanderslice's squad accounted for 44 points in the paint compared to 30 by the visitors.

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