AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team registered an 83-82 victory over Limestone Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Tyler Johnson's game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Jalen McCoy added 16 points and seven rebounds while Jameel Rideout accounted for 15 markers. Tehree Horn chipped in 13 points and four rebounds.

Chedlet Delva added five points and snagged 10 of the team's 37 rebounds on the day. The 10 boards tied a career-high effort for Delva. Demitrios Dixon and Rhyjon Blackwell had four points apiece while Dwight Canady, Jr., had two points.

Down 34-29 with just over four minutes to go in the first half, McCoy hit one-of-two free throws. The Saints rattled off four points in a row for a 38-30 lead but Johnson found Rideout for a shot from distance on a break to slice the deficit to five, 38-33. After a rebound by Delva, Rideout hit a jumper with 2:07 to go. McCoy and Delva each hit a free throw in the waning seconds to trim the margin to one, 38-37, but Limestone hit two charity tosses with nine seconds to go for a 40-37 at halftime.

After halftime, McCoy's jumper made it 40-39. Down 44-41, Johnson connected with Rideout for another shot from deep to tie the contest. Horn hit a jumper and McCoy hit a field goal for a 48-44 advantage with 17:09 to go.

Leading 52-51, Johnson hit a shot from downtown off a pass from Blackwell before Johnson went coast-to-coast for a lay-up. Dixon's charity toss with 12:55 to go made it 58-51. Blackwell's jumper pushed the margin to 60-51 at the 12:18 mark.

Limestone took a 69-62 lead with 6:38 to go but Vanderslice's team battled back. McCoy and Johnson each hit jumpers to make it a three-point contest. 

Tied at 76-76, Dixon found Johnson for a step-back three-point bucket at the 2:28 mark. After a technical foul, Johnson hit both charity tosses for an 81-76 lead. Up 81-78, Horn converted a twisting lay-up with 28 seconds remaining. Limestone hit a three-point shot with less than a second to go for the final score.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 31-of-58 from the field (51.7 percent), including seven-of-13 from downtown (53.8 percent). The Pacers held a 37-34 edge on the glass. USC Aiken had 12 offensive rebounds that led to 20 second-chance points. Vanderslice's team held a 40-34 edge in the paint. 

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they host Barton at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.