MORROW, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team came up just short of knocking off No. 17 Lincoln Memorial, falling by an 84-82 score Saturday.

The Pacers are now 1-1 on the season while the Railsplitters are 2-0.

Tehree Horn and David Strother shared team-high honors with 20 points apiece. Horn connected on eight-of-13 from the field while Strother canned eight-of-14. Preston Parks chipped in 10 points. Parks and Strother each had three steals.

Demitrios Dixon accounted for nine markers while Jalen McCoy and Tyler Johnson had seven and six, respectively.

Mason McMurray pulled down a team-best six boards.

Trailing 16-13, McCoy converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 12:30 mark. Johnson canned a jumper, giving USC Aiken an 18-16 edge. After LMU held a 19-18 advantage, Dixon buried a three-ball for a 21-19 lead. McCoy found Dixon for another shot from distance before Horn netted four straight points. A lay-up from Johnson gave head coach Mark Vanderslice's team a 30-19 working margin with 7:19 to play.

The Railsplitters worked their way back into the game, taking a 36-34 lead at the 4:22 mark. Parks found Horn for a three-point bucket before Strother netted five straight points for a 42-36 lead. The Pacers took a 46-45 lead into intermission.

LMU led 66-60 with 9:02 to play, but Horn canned a three-ball to make it a three-point game. Down 68-63, Strother found Johnson for a jumper. Trailing 72-66, Parks hit a pair of charity tosses and Strother's lay-up pulled the designated visitors within one, 72-71, with 5:23 to play.

Strother gave USC Aiken the lead with a jumper and LaTreavin Black hit a free throw for a two-point margin with 3:31 to go. A 10-0 run by the Railsplitters gave the team an 82-74 advantage, but Vanderslice's team continued to battle. McMurray hit a three-point shot and Horn drained two free throws to make it 82-79 with 1:13 to play.

LMU hit two free throws with four seconds remaining before Strother hit a three-point shot at the buzzer for the final score.  

For the game, USC Aiken hit 31-of-66 from the floor (47.0 percent), including nine-of-21 from downtown (42.9 percent). The Pacers held a 10-3 edge in second-chance points and registered a 26-3 margin in bench points.  

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