DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The USCA men's basketball team dropped a 78-64 contest at North Georgia Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 10-11 on the season, including 5-8 in PBC action.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's squad was led by Jonah Lawrence's 13-points and seven rebounds. He also added three assists and a block.

McCaskill Rivers added 12 points and five boards while Caleb Byrd netted 11 markers. TJ Jackson had nine points and three assists. Josiah Harding tallied five markers.

Chedlet Delva, Deandre Smart and Jackson Roberts scored four points apiece. Delva corralled 10 rebounds. Montraivis White had two points and three assists.  

A basket from Rivers and a pair of charity tosses from Lawrence gave USCA a quick 7-2 edge. Buckets from Jackson and Roberts extended the margin to eight, 11-3, at the 15:36 mark. Roberts and Delva made lay-ups, pushing the advantage back to eight, 15-7. Tied at 19-19, White found the bottom of the net on a jumper.

Trailing 22-21, Harding drilled a three-ball. With 7:17 to play, Roberts hit Rivers for an inside basket. Tied at 26-26, Lawrence and Byrd hit two free throws apiece. The Pacers pushed the margin to five after a free throw from Rivers and a twisting lay-up by Lawrence. Jackson found Rivers for a pull-up jumper in the waning seconds for a 35-30 lead at the break.

Byrd's twisting lay-up gave the visitors a 39-34 lead at the 18:05 mark. Down 41-39, Byrd canned a pair of free throws. A lay-up by Smart pulled the team within two, 46-44, with 13:01 remaining. Moments later, Lawrence found Harding for a floater, once again making it a two-point contest, 50-48.

A 21-4 spurt by the Nighthawks pushed the score to 71-52 with just under six minutes to play.

Facing a 76-54 deficit, Jackson hit two free throws at the 2:00 mark. After a basket by the Nighthawks, Jackson netted five straight points, including a three-ball off a pass from Lawrence. Lawrence closed out the scoring with a shot from distance for the final tally.   

For the game, USCA hit 22-of-60 from the floor. The team drilled five shots from behind the three-point arc and made 15-of-22 from the charity stripe. Vanderslice's squad snagged 32 boards, including nine on the offensive glass. The squad dished out 13 assists and netted 26 points in the paint.

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