December 19, 2007 |
| Story courtesy of Andrew Gavin, USC-Aiken SID |
NO. 13 USC-AIKEN OUTPACES LIMESTONE, 99-68 |
AIKEN, S.C.-- The No. 13-ranked USC-Aiken Pacers outpaced Limestone College in men's basketball action on Wednesday night for a 99-68 win. USC-Aiken improves to 8-0 overall while the Saints fall to 2-4. With the victory, the 13th-ranked Pacers equal the school records for consecutive wins and consecutive wins to start a season. Improving to 7-0 this season against teams that defeated them in 2006-07, USCA avenged a 78-52 setback at the hands of Limestone on December 20, 2006. Andre Coleman (Clermont, Fla.) led the Saints with 16 points. Marques Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 12. John Prioleau (Charleston, S.C.) and Andrae Franklin (Fort Pierce, Fla.) both posted 7 boards. After the Saints’ Andre Coleman gave his team an 8-7 lead with 15:53 on the first half clock, five straight points from Commons sparked a 9-0 Pacer run and USCA never trailed again. The Saints closed to 16-14 before another quick USCA run, this one 10-0, put the hosts ahead 26-14 at the 10:01 mark. An impressive putback dunk by Brian Egwuatu put the Pacers up 38-24 with 4:07 remaining, and Cordaryl Ballard’s steal and layup with 33 seconds left USCA’s halftime lead at 49-32. Commons and Fears led the attack in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 16 and 15 points respectively. The tandem combined to hit 12-of-17 shots from the field in the half. As a team, the Pacers knocked down 19-for-36 shots for 52.8 percent. After hitting just three of 14 attempts from long range, USC Aiken caught fire from the outside in the final 20 minutes, drilling 9-of-11 threes for 81.8 percent. Despite the Pacers’ hot shooting, Limestone kept the deficit hovering around 20 for the majority of the half. Commons’ fastbreak dunk off a long pass from Fears made the score 86-63 and gave the 6’8” junior forward from Toledo, Ohio, his third 30-point outburst of the season. With the score 87-65, Fears, a 6’5” guard from Chicago, Ill., scored eight-straight points to push the lead to 30 for the first time at 95-65. Fears knocked down a three, took a rebound coast to coast for a layup, and then drained another long three on consecutive possessions that spanned less than a minute. Commons finished 11-of-17 from the field, including 4-for-5 from long range, and hit four of six free throws. He also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, had two blocks, and two steals. Fears hit on 12-of-17 shot attempts, 2-for-4 from behind the arc, and 3-of-4 from the line. He added five assists and four rebounds. While the duo was spectacular, they were not alone as multiple other Pacers had strong outings. Junior Kingsley Oguchi scored 11 points in the second half to finish with 13 and also tied a career high with four steals. Junior Job Casimir scored eight points and dished out seven assists to just one turnover, and Ballard added seven assists and two steals to his four points. USCA hit 38-of-66 shots from the field to finish above 50 percent (57.6) for the first time this season. Their blistering second half left them 12-of-25 from long range, just under 50 percent. Limestone finished the night 23-for-57, including 13-of-33 from beyond the arc. The Pacers had 21 assists and turned the ball over a season-low ten times. They held a 38-14 advantage in points in the paint, a 25-5 edge in points off turnovers, a 41-22 advantage in bench points, and a 17-9 margin in fastbreak points. Limestone travels to Rock Hill, S.C., on Wednesday, January 2 to face Winthrop University (NCAA Division I) at 7 p.m. |
| Box Score |
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