AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team notched an 80-71 win over Georgia Southwestern Wednesday evening.
The Pacers are now 11-4 overall, including 4-1 in PBC play.
Head coach
Mark Vanderslice's team was led by
Jalen McCoy's game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Rhyjon Blackwell totaled 20 points and four steals while
Davion Cunningham accounted for 14 points, four boards, two blocks and two steals.
Caleb Byrd tallied six points and four steals while
Dwight Canady, Jr., and
Kaleb Siler had four points apiece.
Simeon German totaled three points while
Mason Grant and
Rafael Rubel had two points each.
In a back-and-forth affair, USCA knotted it on a pair of free throws at 6-6. Down 16-14, Blackwell hit a free throw with 9:30 to play. He followed it up with a three-ball off a pass from Rubel. Tied at 20-20, Blackwell nailed a jumper in the lane to go up two. He drained another basket, pushing the score to 24-20 at the 5:12 mark.
The Hurricanes took a 30-28 lead before Cunningham connected on a field goal at the 2:14 mark. A pair of free throws by
Caleb Byrd pushed the margin to 32-30, but GSW tied it for the 11th time of the game with 25 ticks on the clock. With less than a second to go in the half, Blackwell was fouled and calmly hit two free throws for a 34-32 advantage at the break.
Leading 39-37, McCoy hit a jumper. With 16:40 to go, Cunningham converted a lay-up after a steal. Two minutes later, Blackwell did the same thing. When Siler took a pass from Rubel and hit an inside shot at the 14:24 mark, USCA held a 47-37 lead. With 11:53 to go, the Pacers had a 51-44 edge at the media time-out.
Vanderslice's team pushed the margin to 10 on a basket from McCoy at the 5:39 mark, but the Hurricanes made it 63-57 with 4:50 remaining. McCoy answered with a tip-in and up 65-58 before hitting a jumper for a nine-point lead with 3:54 to play.
USCA pushed the advantage to 14 on a pair of free throws by McCoy with 1:17 to go en route to the nine-point win.
For the game, USCA hit 25-of-58 from the floor. The team canned 28-of-33 from the foul line and maintained a 42-30 edge on the glass, including an 18-10 margin on the offensive boards. Vanderslice's team outscored the opponents 40-32 in the paint and had a 26-17 edge in points off turnovers.
The Pacers return to action Saturday, Jan. 18, when they travel to Columbus State at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
