WILSON, N.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team registered a 68-64 road win at Barton Thursday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 8-3 on the season while the Bulldogs fall to 5-4.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Karon Boyd and Tyler Johnson. The dyad scored 16 points apiece. Boyd had eight rebounds and a pair of assists. Johnson notched 16 points, six boards and four assists to go along with three steals.

Tehree Horn accounted for 15 points and four rebounds. Jalen McCoy totaled eight points while DeShawn Thomas accounted for six points, seven rebounds and five blocks in 20 minutes of action.

Leading 3-2, Jameel Rideout found Boyd for a lay-up. A steal and lay-up by Johnson gave the visitors a five-point lead before Horn canned a jumper. An inside shot by Thomas off a pas from Daniel Parrish pushed the lead to seven, 18-11, with 11:54 to go in the half.

With the score at 23-17, Boyd connected on both charity tosses for a 25-17 margin at the 7:33 mark. Horn's two free throws extended the lead to eight once again, but a free throw by the Bulldogs made it a 35-28 game at intermission.

Up 46-41 with just under 15 minutes to play, McCoy converted a lay-up for a seven-point advantage. A minute later, Boyd took a pass from McCoy and drilled a shot from distance for a 10-ponit margin. Horn's bucket pushed the score to 53-41 but Barton found a way to pull within one at 55-54 at the 6:24 mark.

Boyd and Johnson made back-to-back buckets but a three-point shot by the home team made it 59-57 with 4:25 to play.

Demitrios Dixon snagged a rebound and made a lay-up. Thomas followed him up with a basket for a six-point edge with 3:51 to go. Johnson registered his fourth assist of the game when Boyd hit a lay-up for a 65-57 score.

Although the Bulldogs pulled within six, 65-59, Boyd found Horn for a jumper with 48 seconds to play. Barton would pull within four on a shot with six seconds to go but it was not enough.  

For the game, USC Aiken hit 25-of-54 from the floor (46.3 percent). The squad buried six three-point shots and canned 12 free throws. Vanderslice's team held a 42-35 advantage on the glass. The team never trailed in the contest. The Pacers held a 28-18 edge in the glass. USC Aiken totaled seven steals and garnered five blocks.    

The next game for the Pacers is at home against Erskine on Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.