AIKEN, S.C. – USC Aiken led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but a seven-point differential in the second half earned Armstrong Atlantic State a 77-76 victory over the Pacers on Saturday evening at the Convocation Center.

USC Aiken entered the final minute of the contest up by four points at 76-72, but a Keron McKenzie three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining cut the Pacer advantage to just one at 76-75.

The Pacers turned the basketball over on their next offensive possession on a backcourt violation to give the Pirates life. Armstrong Atlantic took advantage as Gabriel Robinson cleaned up a Patrick Shokpeka missed jumper with eight seconds left to garner Armstrong Atlantic State a 77-76 lead. USC Aiken’s last second shot attempt by Sterling Council (Camden, S.C./Camden) just rimmed out to give the Pirates the one-point victory over the Pacers.

The loss dropped the Pacers to 10-7 in the Peach Belt Conference. USC Aiken is now 15-9 overall. Armstrong Atlantic won its 10th contest of the year to improve to 10-15 overall. AASU is now 5-11 in PBC action.

Before a Homecoming and Senior Night crowd of 3,123, Seth Leonard (York, Pa./William Penn) was the star for the Pacers, finishing his final regular season conference game at the Convocation Center with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was the first of the season for Leonard, who finished the game 7-for-12 from the field. He had five offensive and five defensive boards in the game.

Leonard was one of five Pacers to collect double figures with Council and Rashad Flowers (Charleston, S.C./Garrett Academy) both adding 11. Flowers also had five rebounds. Council ended his evening with four assists.

The final two Pacers in double figures were guards Mark Brown (Charlotte, N.C./Hickory Grove Christian) and Brandon Shephard (Indian Trail, N.C./High Point) with both concluding the game with 10 points each.

Shokpeka was the catalyst for the Pirates in their upset win, ending the contest with a game-high 22 points. He was 9-for-19 from the field.

As a team, USC Aiken finished their efforts shooting 47.5 percent (28-for-59). The Pirates shot just a little better at 48.1 percent (25-for-52).

WOMEN

AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women’s basketball team celebrated Senior Night with a dominant 75-58 victory over Armstrong Atlantic State University on Saturday, Feb. 20 in the Convocation Center.

USC Aiken (15-11, 10-7 PBC) never trailed in the contest and secures the No. 3 seed in the Peach Belt Conference East Division with the victory.

USC Aiken head coach Mike Brandt started all four of his seniors and he was rewarded for the decision as the Pacers rushed out of the gates and dominated the first half with a 20-for-33 shooting performance to lead 47-21 at halftime.

The Pacers impressive shooting performance came as a result of the collective 14 assists dished out by the home team during the first 20 minuets of regulation.

The Pacers played relentless defense during the first half in addition to their offensive prowess, holding AASU to just 8-of-28 shooting while ripping eight steals, blocking two shots and forcing 14 turnovers.

Senior Cameron Crapps set career-high’s in scoring and rebounding to notch the first double-double of her career in a Pacer uniform in her final regular season game at the Convocation Center.

Crapps (Elizabethton, Tenn./Lees-McCrae) finished with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds, dishing out two assists and registering one blocked shot.

Fellow senior Kendra Chandler (Aiken, S.C./Aiken HS) also put on a prolific scoring performance tying for the game-high with 17 points while grabbing three rebounds and making a steal.

Senior Marissa Norman (Skokie, Ill./Niles North HS) finished the game with four points, two assists and one rebound.

Catherine Cain (Dayton, Ohio/Dayton University), the Pacers leading scorer on the season, finished with six points, three rebounds and two steals in the contest.

USCA’s dominating performance was reflected across the final statistics as the Pacers held the advantage in points in the paint, 38-16, points off turnovers, 27-13, second-chance points, 13-6, and bench points, 32-5.