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COLUMBUS – A constant barrage of 3-pointers took down the Columbus State University men's basketball team on Saturday, as USC Aiken defeated the Cougars 92-74. The Peach Belt Conference contest was played in the Lumpkin Center.
 
JaCori Payne paced the Cougars with 20 points, while Darius Joell and Marcus Dixon finished with 17 and 16, respectively.
 
"Give USC Aiken lots of credit," head coach Robert Moore said. "They came out with a ton of energy and I thought we were pretty flat. They played with a sense of urgency and shot the ball really well."
 
Columbus State (2-5, 2-2 PBC) dug itself in an early hole as the Cougars trailed 21-10 less than six minutes into the game.
 
Payne started to heat up however, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to bring the Cougars back within two. CSU then put together a 6-0 spurt and took its first lead of the day at 28-26 with under nine minutes until halftime.
 
The game then went back and forth over the next five minutes, with Vic Ellis seesawing the Cougars in front at 38-37, but USCA answered on the other end and the Pacers would lead the rest of the way.
 
USC Aiken (5-3, 2-2) outscored CSU 15-5 over the final four minutes and took a 52-43 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Cougars scored the opening two baskets of the second half to get the deficit down to five, but the Pacers responded with seven straight and kept a double-digit advantage for the duration of the contest.
 
CSU shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field and was 5-for-17 from the 3-point line.
 
The Pacers ended the day at 57.4 percent (31-for-54) overall after shooting 64.3 percent in the first half. USCA knocked down 13-of-27 shots from beyond the arc.
 
Columbus State will be at home again on Wednesday to take on North Georgia. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Lumpkin Center.