Men's Basketball | January 30, 2024

Each week, USC Aiken will post notes. This week, the Pacers host North Georgia on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Georgia College & State on Saturday, Feb. 3.

Career Night For Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson turned in an impressive performance in the hard-fought overtime victory at USC Beaufort. He erupted for a career-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor in 42 minutes of action. Johnson hit three-of-five from downtown. He added a seven-of-nine effort from the free throw line. For good measure, Johnson pulled down 13 rebounds, dished out four assists and had a steal.

Grabbing All The Rebounds

Although the dyad didn't grab all the rebounds, it seemed like it. The duo combined for 15 rebounds at USC Beaufort. Chedlet Delva corralled eight boards while Simeon German pulled down seven boards. Each played 22 minutes in the hard-fought victory.

Blackwell's Big Play

In the waning seconds of overtime, Rhyjon Blackwell turned in an impressive defensive performance. The standout forced the Sand Sharks into a contested three-point bucket, which the squad missed. The defensive stand helped the Pacers pull out the 83-80 win.

Dixon's Career High

Senior Demitrios Dixon had a solid outing at Clayton State. While coming off the bench, Dixon erupted for a career-high 17 points on six-of-10 shooting. He buried four-of-eight from the three-point line. For good measure, Dion added four boards, two steals and an assist in 28 minutes of action.

Home Stretch

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team has 10 games remaining during the regular season. Coming down the home stretch, the Pacers have seven home games during that time. The team hosts two games this week before a mid-week clash at Flagler next week. The squad returns home for games on Feb. 10 and Feb. 14 prior to a road contest on Feb. 17. USC Aiken hosts games on Feb. 21 and Feb. 24 before a road game on Feb. 28. The team closes out the regular season at home on March 2 with a unique 7:30 p.m., starting time.

Inside The Numbers

This week, the Pacers host North Georgia on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Georgia College & State on Saturday, Feb. 3. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 145-135 (51.8 percent) in Wednesday games and 237-179 (56.9 percent) in Saturday contests. During the same time, the team is 4-7 on Jan. 31 and 2-6 on Feb. 3.

Against The Opponents

This week, the Pacers host North Georgia on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Georgia College & State on Saturday, Feb. 3. The Pacers hold a 21-8 edge in the all-time series against the Nighthawks and have won two straight in the series. USC Aiken trails the all-time series to the Bobcats 32-28 but the team has won the last three outings.