AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team defeated Barton 88-72 Tuesday evening in a non-conference contest.

The Pacers are now 4-1 on the season.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Jameel Rideout's team-best 21 points. He added four boards and a block. Tyler Johnson chipped in 20 points and three steals.

Jalen McCoy added 14 points and three rebounds while Rhyjon Blackwell accounted for 13 points and five boards.

Chedlet Delva and Simeon German had nine rebounds apiece. The dyad also chipped in seven markers each.

Leading 21-17, German tipped in a shot to go up six. Moments later, Tehree Horn hit a free throw for a seven-point advantage. A three-ball from Johnson pushed the margin to 10, 27-17. McCoy's jumper extended the lead to 12, 29-17. 

The visitors cut it to five, but Johnson answered with five consecutive points for a 41-31 advantage. The Bulldogs cut it to seven at the break.

USC Aiken led 55-50 before German hit one-of-two free throws. McCoy's two charity tosses pushed the lead to eight. With 10:53 to play, Blackwell canned two shots from the stripe to make it a 10-point contest. 

Up 62-54, Blackwell took a pass from German and converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Johnson went coast-to-coast for a bucket for a 13-point edge. 

Barton pulled within 10 at the 5:52 mark but USC Aiken never let the visitors get any closer in the 16-point victory.  

For the game, USC Aiken hit 29-of-61 from the floor (47.5 percent), including nine-of-22 from distance (40.9 percent). Vanderslice's squad buried 21-of-28 foul shots (75.0 percent). The team accounted for 32 points in the paint and registered 26 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday, Nov. 29 when they travel to Emmanuel for a 7 p.m. contest. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.