AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team put forth an outstanding effort, but the team lost a 65-54 decision to Lander Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers conclude the regular season at 17-13 overall and 13-7 in league play.

Kyle Tackeberry poured in a career-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Shaquan Jules added 13 points and seven rebounds in the contest. Darius Bell posted nine points and snagged a career-high 17 rebounds.

Robert Hill and Ryan Missildine had six points apiece. Hill grabbed 12 rebounds in the outing.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 18-of-56 from the floor (32.1 percent) and made 15-of-22 from the charity stripe (68.2 percent). The Pacers out-rebounded the visitors 51-37. That led to 24 second-chance points for the home team. USC Aiken also had a 26-18 edge in the paint.

Trailing 10-1 with just over 11:30 to go in the first half, Jules threw down a dunk to get things going for the home team. He followed it up with a three-ball before Tackeberry hit two free throws. A jumper from Bell knotted the score at 10-10 with 9:33 to go in the half.

It was a back-and-forth affair, but Lander took a 21-16 lead. Then, Tackeberry hit a pair of charity tosses and found Jules for a bucket. Trailing 26-24 in the waning seconds of the first half, Tackeberry moved to his right before nailing a fade-away three-point shot as time expired, giving the Pacers a 27-26 lead at the break.

Down 41-36 in the second half, Bell found Missildine for an inside jumper. Tackeberry nailed a shot in the lane, making it 41-40 with 12:02 to play. Missildine's bucket gave USC Aiken a one-point lead. Bell nailed back-to-back shots for a 46-41 advantage with just under 10 minutes to go. After a block by Hill, Bell found Hill on the baseline and he brought the house down with a thunderous dunk over a Bearcat.

The Pacers led 50-44 after a jumper from Tackeberry, but the visitors embarked on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good down the stretch.