Pacers advance to second round of NCAA Tournament

Mar. 15—COLUMBUS, Ga. — The No. 24 and second-seeded USC Aiken men's basketball team picked up its seventh consecutive victory, besting seventh-seeded Catawba 80-71 Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 24-8 on the season. The Catawba Indians complete the season with an 18-13 ledger.

Head coach Mark Vanderslice's team was led by Davion Cunningham's game-high 26 points. He added eight rebounds. Rhyjon Blackwell and Jalen McCoy tallied 17 points apiece while Simeon German totaled 12 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. Mason Grant contributed six markers while Chedlet Delva had two. Caleb Byrd had a pair of steals in the victory.

Trailing 5-4, Cunningham hit a jumper, sparking a run. Delva hit two free throws before Blackwell canned three charity tosses for an 11-5 advantage.

Holding a 17-15 edge, Grant hit a turnaround jumper before McCoy found Blackwell for a three-ball, giving the designated home team a 22-15 lead. Up 22-18, McCoy hit a free throw. Byrd found Cunningham for a lay-up before McCoy buried a charity toss for a 26-18 margin at the 4:42 mark.

Up 27-25, Cunningham made a lay-up with 2:02 to play. Grant hit an inside shot and drained a free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play. A late shot by Cunningham sent Vanderslice's squad into halftime with a 36-29 lead.

Catawba pulled within two at 45-43, but German hit a free throw and McCoy netted two charity tosses for a 48-43 advantage with 11:26 to play.

Tied at 48-48, German scored four consecutive points. Cunningham drilled a shot from behind the three-point stripe off a pass from Blackwell before McCoy completed the run with two free throws, giving USCA a 57-48 advantage with 8:01 to go.

With the score at 72-66, McCoy hit two free throws with 56 ticks on the clock. Cunningham also drained two charity tosses for a 10-point lead with 41 seconds remaining. USCA continued to hit free throws in the waning seconds for the nine-point win.

For the game, USCA hit 18-of-45 (40.0 percent) from the floor. The team buried 42-of-53 from the charity stripe (79.2 percent). The 42 made free throws tied the school record from Jan. 22, 1992 against Augusta while the 53 free throw attempts tied the school mark from Feb. 19, 1994 against Wofford. Vanderslice's squad held a 36-31 advantage on the glass. The team scored 26 points in the paint and netted 13 second-chance points.

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Pacers advance to second round of NCAA Tournament

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