AUGUSTA, Ga. – The top-seeded University of South Carolina Aiken defeated No. 8 Georgia Southwestern 71-70 Thursday afternoon in the PBC Quarterfinal.

The Pacers are now 22-7 on the season with the victory while the Hurricanes conclude their year at 14-14.

Tyler Johnson took a pass from Tehree Horn with 12 seconds on the clock and buried a corner three-point shot for what turned out to be the game-winning field goal.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team outscored the designated visitors 6-2 over the final 49 seconds for the victory.

Johnson led the way with his game-high 20 points while also collecting six rebounds to go along with three steals. Jalen McCoy totaled 18 points and four rebounds while Karon Boyd netted 13 points while snagging a team-high seven rebounds. 

Horn accounted for eight points, four assists and three rebounds while Jameel Rideout posted three points and a game-high six assists. 

USC Aiken jumped out to a 9-2 lead when Samba Ndiaye converted an inside shot off a pass from Rideout. Chedlet Delva's basket made it 13-6 moments later. 

After GSW pulled within one at 19-18, McCoy drained a jumper. Up 23-22, Johnson nailed a three-ball off a pass from McCoy. Boyd's jumper extended the advantage to 28-22 with 3:38 to play. Leading by four, 33-29, McCoy canned another lay-up before the Hurricanes made a shot with two ticks on the clock before intermission.

The second half turned into a back-and-forth affair. Down 40-39, Horn connected with Rideout for a deep three-ball. Leading 42-41, Johnson nailed a shot from distance at the 15:15 mark. Less than a minute later, Horn threw down a dunk to go up 47-41.

GSW took a 52-51 lead with 10:00 to play, but McCoy quickly answered with a basket of his own. Down 66-62, Boyd made a free throw. McCoy's jumper with 3:04 to play pulled the PBC regular-season champions within one, 66-65. 

Down 68-65 after a jumper at the 56 second mark, Johnson twisted through the defense and hit a shot. He absorbed the foul and calmly nailed the free throw, knotting the contest at 68-68.

The Hurricanes took the lead with a lay-up with 30 seconds to play. USC Aiken took the ball out and Horn found Johnson for the corner three-ball for the win.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 45.5 percent of its shots from the floor (30-66), including seven-of-20 from downtown (35.0 percent). The team hit four-of-six from the charity stripe (66.7 percent). The Pacers outrebounded the visitors 34-31, including a 13-8 edge on the offensive glass. 

The Pacers forced 11 turnovers and converted them into 10 points. The 13 offensive boards led to 15 second-chance points.

The Pacers advance to the PBC Semifinal, which will be played tomorrow at 5 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.