AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team knocked off Fayetteville State 69-61 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference affair.

The Pacers are now 6-3 on the season.

USCA took an early 5-0 lead on a jumper from Mason Grant. However, FSU embarked on a 17-2 spurt for a 21-11 edge at the 10:21 mark.

After a time-out, Grant responded with a bucket. Caleb Byrd made a lay-up off a pass from Grant. A pair of free throws by Simeon German made it 21-17. At the 6:26 mark, Jalen McCoy hit a twisting jumper before Chedlet Delva knotted the score at 21-21. Rafael Rubel got into the act with a three-ball on the break when Davion Cunningham drove the lane and flicked a pass to him on the left wing, completing a 13-0 spurt by head coach Mark Vanderslice's squad.

The back-and-forth affair saw the two squads play to a 28-28 score at the break. 

USCA pushed its advantage to 52-44 on a pair of free throws by McCoy at the 10:34 mark. Less than a minute later, Byrd found Rubel for a three-point bucket, giving the squad an 11-point edge.

FSU closed the gap to four on a pair of occasions, but Vanderslice's team answered the bell. Leading 57-53, Rhyjon Blackwell took a pass from McCoy and promptly found the bottom of the net at the 4:55 mark. Forty-five seconds later, McCoy hit a jumper in the lane.

Up 64-59 at the 1:18 mark, Blackwell moved to the corner, took a pass from Cunningham and buried the three-ball, sealing the victory. Blackwell added two more points via free throws before the visitors netted two charity tosses to close out the scoring.

The Pacers were led by Blackwell's team-high 17 points on five-of-nine shooting, including three-of-six from downtown. McCoy added 14 points and three assists while Grant tallied 10 points off the bench. Rubel contributed nine markers, six assists and three steals while Byrd chipped in seven points.

Simeon German grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and swatted a game-best five shots.  

For the game, USCA hit 26-of-60 from the floor (43.3 percent), including seven-of-22 (31.8 percent) from the three-point line. The squad canned 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Vanderslice's squad held a 32-26 edge in the paint. USCA scored 20 points off 15 turnovers.

The Pacers return to action Thursday, Dec. 19, when they play at Francis Marion at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.