GREENWOOD, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team dropped a 94-84 contest at Lander Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 5-3 on the season, including 0-1 in PBC play. The Bearcats stand at 5-3 overall and 1-0 against conference foes.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Davion Cunningham's season-high 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Rhyjon Blackwell totaled 21 points. Jalen McCoy totaled nine points and six rebounds while Caleb Byrd added seven points. Rafael Rubel chipped in five points and six rebounds.

Down 5-3, Kaleb Siler made a lay-up. A jumper from Cunningham and a three-ball from Blackwell gave USCA a 10-5 lead at the 15:11 mark. Tied at 10-10, Cunningham made a pair of shots for a four-point margin. The tightly contested game saw Cam Perkins and Simeon German hit inside shots for a 20-15 edge at the 11:25 mark.

Leading 25-24, Dwight Canady, Jr., hit two free throws to make it 27-24 at the 8:37 mark. An 8-0 spurt by Lander gave the visitors a five-point advantage before Rafael Rubel nailed a three-ball with 5:49 to play. Down 46-37, Cunningham sliced through the defense for a lay-up. His charity toss converted the three-point play. With 46 seconds to go, German found Cunningham for a three-point bucket, trimming the deficit to three, 46-43.

Down 54-45, Blackwell took a pass from Cunningham and embarked on a run for Vanderslice's squad. He canned the three-ball. Cunningham netted the next seven points, giving the Pacers a 55-54 lead at the 13:28 mark.

Tied at 59-59, Lander went on a 13-1 run. USCA trailed 76-63 before Cunningham found the bottom of the net on a pull-up jumper. A pair of free throws by Blackwell sliced the deficit to eight, 75-67, with 5:17 to go.

The Pacers cut the margin to eight on multiple occasions over the next four minutes. Trailing by 11, German kicked the ball to Blackwell, who drained a three-point bucket with 49 seconds remaining. Blackwell's shot from distance and ensuing foul shot for the rare four-point play made it 90-84 with 39 seconds to play.     

For the game, Vanderslice's team hit 31-of-70 (44.3 percent) from the floor, including eight-of-26 (30.3 percent) from the three-point stripe. USCA grabbed 35 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive glass. The Pacers forced 13 turnovers and converted the miscues into 16 points. USCA registered 16 second chance points.   

The Pacers return to action Saturday, Dec. 14, when host Fayetteville State at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.