AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team used a strong second half to knock off Fayetteville State 75-68 Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 5-3 on the season.

USC Aiken was led by Tehree Horn's team-high 17 points on six-of-12 shooting, including five-of-10 from downtown. LaTreavin Black narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

David Strother accounted for 11 points while dishing out five assists. Jalen McCoy and Preston Parks had 10 points apiece.   

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team held an 8-7 advantage before Parks converted an old-fashioned three-point play. USC Aiken built a nine-point lead at 23-14 when Tyler Johnson took a pass from Dimitrios Dixon and drained a shot from downtown. 

FSU whittled away at the lead and tied the contest at 30-30 at the 4:23 mark. The visitors led 37-32 before Black took a rebound and went coast-to-coast with the lay-up. Strother sliced the defense with 32 seconds remaining before finding the bottom of the net for two points, making it 37-36 at the break. 

The Pacers held a 48-41 lead on a jumper by Black with 16:28 to play, but the visitors embarked on a 9-0 run. 

Tied at 62-62, Strother found Horn for a three-point shot from the wing, giving the home team a 65-62 margin. Up by one, Strother and Parks connected on back-to-back buckets for a five-point lead with 2:47 to play.

After neither team scored for the next 1:30, McCoy hit a runner in the lane for a seven-point advantage. Up 71-66, Black hit a shot with 25 ticks remaining. A steal and lay-up by McCoy sealed the victory, pushing the margin to nine at 75-66.

For the game, USC Aiken shot 29-of-58 from the floor (50.0 percent), including 10-of-18 from downtown (55.6 percent). The squad connected on seven-of-eight from the charity stripe (87.5 percent). Vanderslice's team pulled down 33 rebounds compared to 29 for the visitors. 

The Pacers return to action Sunday, Dec. 12 when they host St. Augustine's at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.