AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team posted a 74-60 victory over Saint Augustine's Sunday afternoon.
The Pacers are now 6-3 on the season.
Head coach
Mark Vanderslice's team was led by
Preston Parks' season-high 22 points. It also marked a game-high effort.
LaTreavin Black and
Tehree Horn each accounted for 15 points. Black notched a double-double with 10 rebounds while Horn was a board shy of a double-double.
David Strother posted 11 points to go along with eight assists and four rebounds.
Leading 10-8, Strother canned a jumper. Moments later, Parks pulled up and nailed a three-ball. At the 12:22 mark, he connected on another shot for a 17-8 lead. SAU sliced into the margin, cutting it to one at 20-19 with 6:51 to play.
Parks and Strother hit back-to-back shots for the home squad. Strother pushed the advantage to seven on a jumper in the lane. Up 29-23, Strother found Horn for a three-point bucket in the corner for a 32-23 score. The Pacers would carry a seven-point edge, 32-25, into the halftime break.
USC Aiken netted the first five points of the second half on a shot by Strother and a three-ball from Parks for a 12-point lead. When Strother found Horn at the 15:13 mark, the three-point shot pushed the advantage to 16.
The Falcons cut the margin to eight a pair of times, including the last one at the 6:45 mark. However, Horn found Black for a jumper. Parks hit two shots and
Jalen McCoy recorded a steal and dunk. Then, McCoy found Horn for a three-ball, making it 68-49 with 4:30 to play.
The visitors sliced the margin to 11 with 1:56 to play, but Horn and Black hit back-to-back shots to solidify the victory.
For the game, the Pacers were 30-of-70 from the floor (42.9 percent), including eight-of-24 from downtown (33.3 percent). The Pacers out-rebounded the visitors 50-42. The squad also dished out 14 assists on 30 field goals.
USC Aiken held a 16-11 edge off turnovers and maintained a 13-9 advantage in second-chance points.
The Pacers return to action Thursday when they host Georgia Southwestern at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
