DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team lost a 70-69 heartbreaker to Emmanuel in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers conclude the season with a 23-7 record.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Jalen McCoy's game-high 26 points. He connected on all nine field goal attempts and made eight-of-10 from the charity stripe. McCoy also snagged four boards and had a block.

Tyler Johnson accounted for 16 points and nine rebounds to go along with three steals.

Tehree Horn netted eight points while Simeon German and Jameel Rideout accounted for six points apiece. German grabbed 10 rebounds and swatted five shots.

Demitrios Dixon added three points while Rhyjon Blackwell and Chedlet Delva had two points apiece. Delva swatted three shots.

The Pacers trailed 10-2 just over four minutes into the game. A three-point play by German and a bucket by Horn made it 10-8 at the 13:27 mark. McCoy tied the game and Johnson gave the home squad a two-point edge. McCoy converted a three-point play for a 15-10 lead at the 11:04 mark.

The Lions regained the advantage at 20-17 but jumpers from Horn and Johnson gave the Pacers a 23-22 lead with 5:46 to play it he half.

A Dixon three-ball off a pass from Johnson gave USC Aiken a 31-27 lead, but Emmanuel pulled within one with 1:07 to go in the period. McCoy hit a jumper and Johnson nailed an 18-foot bucket as time expired in the half, giving the Pacers a 35-30 lead at the break.

Blackwell opened the second half with two free throws and Johnson hit two charity tosses for a 39-30 advantage just 1:14 into the period. Up 47-43, McCoy and Johnson converted back-to-back buckets for the PBC regular-season champions.

After seeing the lead dwindle to just two, 53-51, McCoy hit two free throws at the 8:42 mark. Rideout buried a jumper for a six-point margin.

Leading 57-53, Johnson drained a jumper with 6:02 to play. Horn found McCoy after a rebound from German for a bucket. Horn hit a step-back jumper at the 4:38 mark, giving the home squad a 63-55 lead.

Back-to-back turnovers led to six points for the Lions, giving them a 66-65 advantage. However, McCoy answered with a jumper with 88 seconds to go. Down by one, 68-67, McCoy was fouled and calmly hit both free throws, but Emmanuel countered with an inside shot with 12 ticks remaining.

USC Aiken pushed the ball up the court and Johnson squared up for a three-point shot, but it narrowly missed. Horn corralled the rebound but was unable to convert a last-second shot as time expired.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 26-of-53 (49.1 percent) from the floor. The squad buried 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from the charity stripe. USC Aiken held a 30-26 edge in the paint.