AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest to Lander by a score of 77-68 Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 11-15 on the season, including 6-12 in PBC play.
 
Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was paced by Caleb Byrd's 26-point effort. He added two blocks and a pair of steals. McCaskill Rivers tallied 17 points and seven rebounds while Jonah Lawrence added 16 points. Deandre Smart chipped in four points while TJ Jackson and Chedlet Delva had three and two, respectively. Delva led everyone with 16 rebounds.

Down 7-5, Rivers found Byrd for a straight-away three-point bucket. Lawrence's free throw gave USCA a 9-7 lead. Tied at 9-9, Rivers netted four straight points. Leading 13-11, Lawrence netted four straight points for a six-point margin.

Lander held a 25-21 lead before Jackson found Byrd for a three-point basket at the 5:19 mark. Trailing 29-24, Jackson hit a step-back three-ball. Byrd connected on an old-fashioned three-point play at the 1:13 mark for a 30-29 edge at halftime.

Down 43-33, Lawrence nailed a shot from downtown. Moments later, Rivers converted a lay-up. Smart connected on a pair of free throws before Byrd nailed a shot from distance. Smart's two free throws knotted the game at 45-45 at the 12:09 mark.

Trailing 55-49, Rivers made a lay-up. Byrd canned two charity tosses, bringing the team within two, 55-53, at the 6:23 mark. A three-ball from Byrd off a pass from Lawrence made it 61-59 with 4:34 remaining.

Byrd converted another shot from inside off a pass from Rivers, making it a two-point game, 63-61. However, Lander netted the next six points for an eight-point cushion. Lawrence hit two free throws and Rivers made one to make it 69-64. However, USCA could get no closer.

For the game, USCA hit 20-of-66 from the floor, including seven-of-25 from downtown. The team canned 21-of-24 from the charity stripe. Vanderslice's team pulled down 41 rebounds and netted 19 second chance points off 17 offensive boards.

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