AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team cruised to a 71-52 win over Clayton State Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 12-5 on the season including 5-2 in PBC play.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Davion Cunningham's game-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Mason Grant and Jalen McCoy netted 11 points apiece while Simeon German narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds. 

Rhyjon Blackwll totaled seven points while Caleb Byrd and Kaleb Siler had five points each. Cam Perkins notched four points while Dwight Canady, Jr., chipped in two.

Trailing 5-4, Cunningham hit a pair of free throws. Blackwell converted a lay-up as did Cunningham. A Perkins' floater and a lay-up by McCoy extended the edge to 14-5 and USCA never looked back. Up 16-10, Byrd drained a three-ball before finding Siler on a lay-up. A jumper by Siler extended the advantage to 23-10 at the 9:49 mark. Leading 25-15, Siler hit a free throw and McCoy found Cunningham for a lay-up, pushing the score to 28-15.

With the score at 32-19, McCoy hit Perkins for a bucket on the break. Grant hit an inside shot for a 17-point margin. With 56 ticks on the clock, Grant hit one-of-two free throws for a 37-20 lead at intermission.

Vanderslice's team built the lead to 21, 46-25, on a McCoy jumper at the 15:57 mark. The Pacers pushed the margin to 24 on a three-point play by McCoy two minutes later. 

The Pacers maintained an advantage of nearly 20 points until the visitors trimmed it to 57-40 at the 6:03 mark.

USCA quickly netted five points – two by Byrd free throws and three off a shot from Blackwell, to make it 62-40 with 4:26 to go. 

Leading 64-45, German hit a jumper, Cunningham nailed a three-ball and McCoy hit two charity tosses for a 26-point margin en route to the victory.

For the game, USCA buried 28-of-66 from the floor and made 12-of-17 from the charity stripe. The team outrebounded the Lakers 58-32, including a 19-9 edge on the offensive glass. The squad scored 42 points in the paint, had 21 points off turnovers and registered eight second-chance points. 

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they play at North Georgia at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.