AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team's tremendous second-half comeback attempt fell just short in the 66-65 loss to Columbus State Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 7-7 on the year, including 2-4 in PBC play.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's squad was paced by Jonah Lawrence's game-high 21 points. He also registered four assists and two steals. McCaskill Rivers poured in 19 points to go along with six rebounds while Josiah Harding added 13 points and six boards. Caleb Byrd totaled six points while Deandre Smart and Chedlet Delva had four and two, respectively. Delva snagged a career-high 17 rebounds, marking the sixth most in the program's Division II history. Smart corralled eight rebounds. 

Down 7-2, Harding connected on his fourth straight point. Facing a 9-4 deficit, Lawrence found Rivers for a three-ball. With 13:13 to go, Rivers knotted the score at nine on a sensational jumper. The Cougars led 17-11 before Vasser Jr., found Lawrence for a slicing lay-up. Montraivis White hit Lawrence for a three-ball, pulling the team within one, 17-16. However, CSU embarked on an 18-4 spurt to close out the first half.

Down 41-22, Byrd found Rivers for a lay-up. On the ensuing possession, Rivers hit Lawrence for a three-ball. Moments later, a shot from distance by Harding cut the margin to 10. Trailing 48-38, Byrd netted a three-point bucket. Smart's offensive rebound and putback made it 48-43 with 11:35 on the clock. 

CSU built the advantage to 11, 56-45, but Harding nailed a jumper at the 7:52 mark. Free throws by Rivers and Lawrence sliced the margin to five, 56-51. Down 58-51, Lawrence canned two charity tosses with 5:54 to go. Lawrence connected with Byrd for a deep three-ball, making it 58-56 with 5:27 to play.

Trailing 61-58, Rivers hit a jumper. With 1:19 to play, Harding hit two free throws for a 62-61 edge. Delva's two free throws pushed the margin to three, 64-61. Lawrence hit one-of-two for a four-point lead with 49 seconds to play.

The Cougars hit a three-ball with 42 seconds to play before hitting the game-winning shot with one second to go.

For the game, USCA hit 21-of-62 from the floor, including seven-of-15 from downtown. The team canned 16-of-23 from the charity stripe. The Pacers held a 47-28 edge on the glass, including a 20-3 margin on the offensive boards. USCA had 10 second-chance points and did not allow a second-chance point.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Georgia College at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.