AIKEN, SC – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team recorded a hard-fought 97-95 victory over the Flagler College Saints Wednesday evening.
 
The Pacers improved to 11-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. The team overcame a 14-point second-half deficit in the final 16:43 to secure the win. 
 
Head coach Mark Vanderslice's squad was led by Jalen McCoy with 23 points. He shot 10-for-18 from the floor. Simeon German impacted the defensive side with six blocks to go along with seven boards. Tyler Johnson, Rhyjon Blackwell and Tehree Horn all netted double figures with 16, 12, and 11 points respectively.

Jameel Rideout and Demitrios Dixon added nine points apiece while Dwight Canady, Jr., accounted for eight points.  
 
Devin Evans and Johnson fueled the team's 10-7 start with a pair of three pointers in the early going. Johnson added a flashy lay-up shortly after to get him to five early points. A technical foul was called on the Saints with 12:50 to play in the first half and Blackwell hit both free throws to put the Pacers up 18-15. McCoy continued to showcase his skill in the paint, adding eight early points by the 10:00 mark in the first stanza. 
 
The Saints gained a 30-27 advantage with 7:47 to play in the half. German added two blocks and two points in a minute with hopes of sparking a Pacers' run but the home team trailed 50-40 at the break despite shooting 55.2 percent from the floor as the visitors hit 65.4 percent from the field.

The deficit reached 14 points with 16:40 left to play in the game. Momentum switched moments later as a Saints' student-athlete was ejected after two technical fouls. The deficit was cut to five with 13:36 to play thanks to free throws from Blackwell and McCoy. Canady, Jr., hit a wide-open three to make it a one-possession game. 
 
Dixon tied the game 73-73 with 7:18 left to play. Dixon helped the home team regain the lead off a reverse layup amid heavy traffic. The Pacers' run continued as they found themselves up 82-75 with 4:58 to play and the lead reached double digits with four minutes to go.
 
McCoy hit two clutch layups to combat the Saints' comeback attempt. Horn was fouled with 24 seconds left and made one of two shots from the free-throw line to hold a 96-91 lead. 

Flagler pulled within two at 96-94 after hitting a three-ball with eight ticks on the clock. Horn hit one-of-two from the charity stripe for a 97-94 edge. USC Aiken fouled the Saints near the mid-court stripe, setting up a foul shot. The visitors made the first but missed the second intentionally. Flagler rebounded the ball but was unable to get a shot off, securing the victory for the home team. 
 
The Pacers ended the night shooting 53.8 percent from the floor and 45 percent from beyond the arc. USC Aiken scored 26 points off turnovers while limiting the opposition to just 10 points. 
 
The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Augusta at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.