CENTRAL, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team led for virtually the entire game in the 83-62 victory at Southern Wesleyan Saturday.
The Pacers are now 4-2 on the year while the Warriors fall to 0-6.
Head coach
Mark Vanderslice's team was led by
Christopher Brown and
Tyler Johnson as both netted 16 points in the win. Johnson also snagged five rebounds and had a pair of steals.
Tehree Horn narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine boards while
Jalen McCoy added 10 markers.
Daniel Parrish chipped in eight points.
It took all of 37 seconds for USC Aiken to pull even with the home team and then another 36 seconds to take the lead for good when Horn found
Karon Boyd for a three-ball. Horn's three-point shot off an assist from
Jameel Rideout made it 8-2 and the visitors never looked back.
Leading 8-5, the Pacers netted seven straight points – two from Boyd, three from Rideout and two from Johnson – for a 15-5 margin.
Up 31-21, Brown buried a pair of shots from distance for a 37-21 advantage. After another three-ball from Brown, Samba Ndiyae's three free throws pushed the lead to 21 at 43-22. A pair of free throws with two seconds to play made it 48-26 at the break.
The Pacers kept the distance in double figures throughout the rest of the game. USC Aiken held a 58-36 lead before
Demitrios Dixon hit a pair of charity tosses with 11:16 to go.
Up 68-51 McCoy hit a lay-up and Johnson hit a pair of free throws for a 72-51 edge. USC Aiken closed out the game as
Daniel Parrish and
Dwight Canady, Jr., each hit lay-ups for the 21-point margin.
For the game, Vanderslice's team hit 28-of-62 from the floor (45.2 percent), including nine-of-23 from downtown (39.1 percent). The team connected on 18-of-24 from the charity stripe (75 percent) while also holding a 46-26 edge on the glass.
The visitors held a 49-17 edge off the bench and controlled the paint, 36-20.
The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host Coker at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
