AIKEN, SC – The University of South Carolina Aiken recorded a hard-fought 64-63 victory over the Columbus State Cougars Saturday evening. 
 
The Pacers improved to 14-2 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. The win came on a shot from Tyler Johnson with only nine seconds remaining before a defensive stand clinched the outcome. 
 
Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Jalen McCoy's 18 points and six rebounds. Johnson and Tehree Horn each added 15 points, with Johnson adding seven rebounds and Horn adding three steals, including one in the waning seconds.
 
Johnson got off to a hot start, scoring the first five points of the game, including his 1,000^th career point. Jameel Rideout hit a contested layup shortly after to create a 7-0 start for the home team. Rideout added another three at the 16:30 mark to hold a 10-2 lead. 
 
Vanderslice's squad played stifling defense in the early going, racking up two blocks and three steals by the 11:25 mark in the first half. The Cougars would start to creep back as the Pacers' lead would become three with 8:36 to play in the first. 
 
Demitrios Dixon hit a corner three with 2:23 remaining in the first half, and he followed the bucket up with a steal on the defensive end the next possession. 
 
The Pacers led 34-30 at the half. They shot 50 percent from beyond the arc on 12 shots, and they were flawless from the charity stripe, connecting on all four attempts.
 
The Cougars got off to a hot start in the second half, hitting two three-point buckets. Rideout was able to match one of these shots with his own, but the Pacers found themselves trailing 38-37. Johnson hit another three to reclaim the lead with 16:20 to play in the second half, and this shot was answered with another three-pointer from the Cougars.
 
McCoy ended the Pacers' scoring drought with a pair of inside buckets near the halfway point of the second half. At this point, Vanderslice's squad found themselves trailing 50-44. 
 
McCoy continued his scoring to bring the Pacers within two with 4:33 left in the game. Another inside finish gave him his 16^th point of the evening. Johnson finished an and-one opportunity after the Cougars matched McCoy's bucket. McCoy gave the team a 62-61 lead with 3:37 left in the game on another inside shot.
 
After some physical possessions from both teams, Johnson hit a step-back jumper to reclaim the lead with nine seconds left in the game. This would ultimately win the game for the Pacers in an exciting finish. The Cougars tried to split a pair of defenders but Horn poked the ball away to secure the victory. 
 
The Pacers finished the game shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three. Six steals and three blocks led to 18 points for the Pacers this evening. 

The victory marked Vanderslice's 300th career win.
 
The team returns to action Wednesday evening where they will travel to Beaufort, S.C., to take on the USC Beaufort Sand Sharks at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.