AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team held off Clayton State Saturday afternoon for a 74-68 victory.

The Pacers are now 18-8 on the season, including an 11-5 ledger in PBC play.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Jalen McCoy's 22-point, six-rebound effort. Rhyjon Blackwell erupted for 21 points, including 18 from behind the three-point stripe. Mason Grant tallied 14 points and snagged five boards.

Dwight Canady, Jr., totaled nine points while Simeon German added six points and eight boards. Rafael Rubel chipped in two points and six rebounds. Cam Perkins dished out four assists while Chedlet Delva had four boards and a block.

Down 8-4 in the early going, McCoy buried a jumper. Trailing 11-4, Canady, Jr., hit a pull-up off a pass from McCoy. A Perkins pass found Blackwell for a three-point bucket, making it 11-10 with 15:21 to play.

Six consecutive points from Blackwell pushed the advantage to 16-13 at the 13:44 mark.

The back-and-forth affair saw the Lakers take a 21-18 lead before German and Grant buried inside shots for a one-point edge. Tied at 22-22, Grant gave the Pacers the lead on a hook shot. Blackwell drilled another shot from distance before McCoy netted four straight points. A Blackwell free throw and a hook shot by Grant extended the margin to 34-22 at the 2:52 mark.

Perkins found Blackwell for a shot with 51 ticks on the clock, but a pair of free throws by the home team made it 39-28 at the break.

Vanderslice's team pushed the margin to 16 after baskets from McCoy and Blackwell to start the second half. Up 44-29, Rubel and German connected on baskets. A twisting lay-up by Grant extended the advantage to 20, 50-30, at the 17:01 mark. However, the Lakers went on a 32-11 run for a 62-61 lead.

USCA responded by finding McCoy for a pair of baskets with under four minutes to play. Grant found German for a lay-up and Grant nailed a baby hook shot with 54 ticks on the clock.

With the score at 69-66, McCoy converted a three-point play before Blackwell ended the scoring by the Pacers with a pair of free throws.  

For the game, USCA hit 30-of-56 (53.6 percent) from the floor, including eight-of-16 (50.0 percent) from downtown. The squad canned six-of-14 (42.9 percent) from downtown. The team held a 37-33 edge on the glass. Vanderslice's team dished out 12 assists and netted 38 points in the paint.

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