DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a hard-fought 69-66 game at North Georgia Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 17-11 overall and 11-7 in league play. The Nighthawks improve to 14-13 overall and 7-11 against PBC teams.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Tehree Horn's 18 points and five boards. Jalen McCoy added 17 points while David Strother and Tyler Johnson posted 14 points and 10 points, respectively. Strother also snagged a team-best eight rebounds.

Demitrios Dixon and Strother dished out four assists apiece while LaTreavin Black had the other two assists for the visitors.

Vanderslice's team scored 17 of the first 20 points of the second half en route to a 47-33 lead. Horn buried a pair of three-point shots during the run and Samba Ndiaye completed it with a steal and dunk with 13:23 to go.

USC Aiken pushed the lead to 15 at 57-42 on three free throws by Horn at the 8:30 mark. However, a 22-7 run by the Nighthawks knotted it at 64-64 with 1:52 to go. The home team took a 69-64 lead but Strother cut into the margin with 12 seconds to go. The Pacers had a chance to tie the game but a last-second three-point shot missed.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 26-of-52 from the floor (50.0 percent). The squad hit nine-of-10 from the charity stripe (90.0 percent). Vanderslice's team held a 19-17 edge in points off turnovers.

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they host Columbus State at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com. Ticket information will be announced on Monday.