GREENWOOD, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a 77-70 decision at Lander Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 9-7 overall and 8-6 in league play.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Gus Rowland's 20 points. Tyler Johnson and Anyeuri Castillo added 17 and 11 points, respectively. Castillo snagged seven rebounds in the contest.

Jalen McCoy and Latreavin Black chipped in six and five points, respectively.

Tied at 16-16, Tyler Johnson buried a three-point basket off a pass from Darius Bell. Leading 19-18, Bell tipped in a miss from Johnson at the 7:21 mark. The teams traded baskets before Rowland found Damontez Oliver for a shot from downtown for a 26-20 advantage. Up 27-26, Johnson netted five straight points. The Bearcats made it a 32-28 contest at halftime.

In a back-and-forth second half, Vanderslice's squad trailed 59-57 before Johnson canned a three-point shot with 6:33 to play. Tehree Horn took a pass from Rowland and drained an inside shot to go up 62-59. After a bucket by the Bearcats, Oliver found Castillo for a three-pointer, giving the visitors a 65-61 lead at the 4:28 mark.

The teams traded leads and Rowland's jumper with 1:41 to play gave USC Aiken a 70-68 lead. However, the Bearcats rattled off nine straight points to end the game.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 26-of-68 from the floor (38.2 percent), including 11-of-30 from the three-point line (36.7 percent). The team hit seven-of-nine from the foul line (77.8 percent).

The Pacers will participate in the PBC Tournament next week. The bracket will be released by the PBC after the final regular-season game.