AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team lost an 84-80 contest to Fayetteville State Saturday afternoon.
The Pacers are now 4-2 on the season.
Head coach
Mark Vanderslice's team was led by
Caleb Byrd's game-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds.
McCaskill Rivers added 13 points while
Montraivis White had 11 points and four assists.
Jackson Roberts posted nine points and eight boards while
Jonah Lawrence totaled seven points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
Cam Perkins had six points while
William Vasser Jr., had four.
Brock Cherry and
Deandre Smart had two points apiece.
USCA jumped out to an 11-4 lead after a pair of free throws by Cherry at the 16:03 mark. Leading 15-12, Byrd netted the next four points for a seven-point cushion with 11:48 to play. Up 19-18, Vasser Jr., scored the next three points before White buried a jumper for a 24-18 edge. Tied at 25-25, Roberts canned two free throws. Rivers netted an inside shot before draining a three-ball off a pass from Perkins for a 32-25 margin. The Pacers maintained a 39-36 lead at the break.
Down 49-40, White took a pass from Lawrence and canned a three-point shot. Lawrence netted the next four points, making it a 49-47 contest. Trailing 63-57, Roberts hit a pair of charity shots at the 11:06 mark. Vanderslice's team fell behind 71-61 but chipped away at the margin. Byrd's three-point bucket with 5:43 to play sliced the game to a four-point contest, 71-67.
With the score at 76-72, White found Byrd for a lay-up at the 2:38 mark. Byrd found Perkins for a wing three-ball, trimming the margin to just one, 78-77. However, that was as close as the team could get the rest of the way as FSU hit a free throw with under a second to play for the final tally.
For the game, USCA hit 28-of-77 (36.4 percent), including 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from downtown. The team canned 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) from the three-point line. USCA had 52 rebounds, including 20 on the offensive glass, which led to 19 second-chance points.
The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host USC Beaufort at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
