AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team won the PBC regular-season title with an 83-74 victory over North Georgia Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 21-7 overall, including 14-4 in league play. The Nighthawks fall to 20-6 overall, including 13-5 against league foes.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Tehree Horn's 23-point effort. He also snagged seven rebounds, had two steals and a block. Horn netted all 23 points in the second half of the game, including his 1,000^th career point at USC Aiken.

Jalen McCoy disrupted the defense once again, connecting on 10-of-15 from the floor for 22 points. He also swatted two shots. 

Tyler Johnson narrowly missed out on a double-double with 16 points and nine boards. He added two steals for good measure. Jameel Rideout tallied 12 points. 

Karon Boyd chipped in seven points while Samba Ndiaye, playing on Senior Day, snagged eight rebounds and hit his only shot.

Trailing 23-19 with 7:01 to play in the first half, McCoy found Johnson for a three-ball. On the ensuing possession, Johnson stayed hot and buried another shot from downtown for a 25-23 edge. Down 26-25, McCoy baffled the defense and hit a shot in the paint at the 4:40 mark. 

USC Aiken increased the lead to 47-36 on Johnson's old-fashioned three-point play with 15:41 to go. 

The Nighthawks made a run to cut it to 49-46 with 12:53 to play, but Horn answered with a three-ball 20 seconds later and the Pacers were on their way. Up 55-48, McCoy hit a floater before Horn canned a jumper. On ensuing possessions, Horn was fouled and hit free throws for a 62-48 edge at the 9:30 mark.

Although USC Aiken held a 68-52 advantage, the visitors cut the score to seven with 5:20 to play. Horn answered with a lay-up off a pass from Demitrios Dixon. The Pacers pushed the score to 71-61 at the 4:04 mark and never let the visitors get closer than seven the rest of the way.  

For the game, USC Aiken hit 27-of-59 from the floor (45.8 percent). The team got to the line 29 times and hit 24 attempts (82.8 percent). Vanderslice's team netted 38 points in the paint and converted 13 turnovers into 20 points. 

The Pacers will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament, which will be hosted at Augusta March 2-5. The team takes on Georgia Southwestern at 12 p.m. on March 2. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.