Guard trio comes to Pacers' rescue

USC Aiken guard Re'mon Nelson (3) shoots during a 81-78 win over UNC Pembroke. Nelson scored 15 points. Staff photo by Noah Feit.

For much of the game on Saturday night, it looked like the USC Aiken men's basketball team would lose to UNC Pembroke for the second time this season. The 20th-ranked Pacers struggled to score on their home floor in the first half, falling behind by as many as 15 points.

For much of the second half, they seemed to hit a wall as they tried to rally against the Braves. Even with a reinvigorated offense, USCA struggled to get closer than five points down with time running out. That's when the Pacer guards took over.

The combination of Re'mon Nelson, Sterling Council and Jesse Seilern accounted for 18 of the final 21 points USCA scored in the last 4:26 of action, in a 81-78 comeback win that was as thrilling as it seemed unlikely.

"The guys did a good job hanging in there. They didn't give up," Pacers coach Vince Alexander said after his team improved to 17-5 on the season and 11-3 in Peach Belt Conference games, allowing it to remain in first place in the East Division. "We played a really good team; UNC Pembroke was picked to finish second in the Peach Belt. We fought and hung in there. ... The guards started to pick it up. I was real happy with the matchups with our guards. They did a good job attacking."

Nelson tied for team-high honors, scoring 15 points. Seven came in the last 3 minutes of the game.

That was when he was especially clutch, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.

"The team kept the faith," Nelson said. "No matter how much we were down or however much time was left, we played like we could still win."

As good as Nelson was, Seilern was just as clutch. He scored all 12 of his points in the second half after seeing limited action in the opening stanza.

Nine of his points were in the last 3:36 of the game, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and 3 of 4 free throws.

"He's a good player," Alexander said of the player that sat for long stretches because of issues he had with turnovers. "I wasn't going to play him, but something told me to put him in the game."

The coach must have felt vindicated when Seilern was fouled after making a steal at midcourt with 2 1/2 minutes to play. He sank both free throws, tying the score at 70-all. Alexander couldn't have been blamed if he was downright giddy 102 seconds later.

That was when Seilern beat the shot clock with a hand in his face in front of the Pacers bench for a huge 3-pointer. The shot gave USCA its first lead of the game.

"Jesse came through," Alexander said.

So did Council, who scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. He also added a game-best six assists. He was part of a 32-21 advantage the Pacers held in bench scoring, which also got a big boost from Ronald Zimmerman's 15 points.

USCA forward Jeremiah Pojah had 10 points and nine rebounds, the same stat line as UNCP's big man George Blakeney. His numbers don't relay how dominant he was in the physical and often chippy game. As good as Blakeney was, teammate Shahmel Brackett was even better in the second half, when he scored 20 of his 24 points.

But the Pacers got enough stops in the final 5 minutes to rally. That occurred in spite of the fact they were outrebounded 39-31 and outscored in the paint 42-22. But USCA's ability to connect from the free-throw line and 3-point territory in the second half made the difference.

"I told our guys we're not backing down because I thought we did last time," Alexander said of the Pacers' 78-69 loss to UNCP in January. "We did a good job being physical."

Nelson said the win was important because it avenged the loss and created USCA momentum heading into Wednesday's game with rival Augusta State.

"It's a big win; we've got goals to reach," Nelson said of aspirations that including winning the East Division, which they lead by two games over the Jaguars. "We want to stay in first in the conference and always have to be ready for Augusta State."