USC Aiken men's basketball team suffers PBC loss at Lander

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Jan. 3—LANDER 84, USC AIKEN 70

GREENWOOD, S.C. — The USC Aiken men's basketball team lost an 84-70 contest at Lander on Saturday evening.

The Pacers are now 7-6 on the year, including a 2-3 ledger in Peach Belt Conference play.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was guided by Caleb Byrd's 21-point, six-rebound effort. McCaskill Rivers added 16 points. Montraivis White netted nine markers while Jonah Lawrence added eight points and seven rebounds.

Chedlet Delva and Deandre Smart accounted for four points apiece. Delva snagged five boards. Josiah Harding and William Vasser Jr., had three points apiece. Harding grabbed six boards. Jackson Roberts had two points.

USCA jumped out to a 7-4 lead on a lay-up by Rivers at the 15:51 mark. A basket by Deandre Smart gave the Pacers an 11-8 edge with just under 13 minutes to play in the half. Down 12-11, Byrd found Vasser Jr., for a three-ball, giving Vanderslice's team a two-point cushion. Trailing 28-18, Byrd recorded a lay-up.

Moments later, he drilled a three-ball, making it a 31-23 game. That shot started a run for the visitors. White found Lawrence for an alley-oop. Lawrence canned two free throws before White converted an old-fashioned three-point play, bringing the Pacers within one, 31-30. After five points by LU, White concluded the first-half scoring with three free throws, allowing USCA to trim the deficit to three, 36-33, at intermission.

Trailing 39-33, Lawrence hit a pair of free throws and Rivers converted a lay-up, slicing the deficit to just two points. Down 50-44, Cam Perkins found Rivers for a three-point bucket. Byrd hit a pair of free throws with 2:54 to play, making it 50-49. With the score at 62-53, Byrd hit a free throw. Harding canned two charity tosses, trimming the margin to six, 62-56.

USCA continued to play hard and kept within striking distance. Rivers' lay-up with 6:46 to play made it 65-60. However, that was as close as the team could get the rest of the way.

For the game, USCA hit 21-of-60 from the floor, including six-of-21 from downtown. The team canned 22-of-30 from the charity stripe. Vanderslice's team grabbed 33 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive glass. The squad netted 28 points in the lane.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host Columbus State at 7:30 p.m.

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