Pacers win in double overtime

USC Aiken’s Sterling Council, left, drives against Francis Marion’s Marcus Wright. Council led all scorers with 33 points. Staff photo by By Cam Huffman.

On a night of upsets in the Peach Belt Conference, USC Aiken's seniors somehow made sure the Pacers didn't suffer the same fate at the Convocation Center. On life support more than once on Senior Night against Francis Marion, USCA found its magic potion in the form of Sterling Council and Chase Holmes, who combined for 52 points in their final home game, leading the Pacers to a 105-98 double-overtime victory for the Pacers.

Combined with Augusta State's loss at Lander, USCA (19-6, 13-4 PBC) clinched the Peach Belt Conference East Division title with the victory, ending the home portion of its regular season schedule with a 14-0 record.

"We had numerous goals before the season started, and one of them was to go undefeated at home," said Council, a Camden native. "That was the No. 1 thing I wanted tonight, and fortunately I had a great night."

Council, who spent all four years of his college career with USCA, scored nine of his career-high 33 points in the final overtime period to help lock up the victory. FMU (16-12, 9-9 PBC) battled foul trouble and was left short-handed for the final five minutes. Leading scorer Liki Turner, who finished with 20 points and five rebounds, fouled out in the first overtime, and the Patriots saw their big man, Andrew Smith, and guard Marcus Wright disqualified before the night was over. The Pacers outscored FMU 19-12 over the final five minutes.

USCA didn't win the game in the second overtime, though. It won it by giving itself a chance to keep playing.

"I kept seeing that they weren't quitting," said Pacer head coach Vince Alexander. "That was positive to me. I just felt like if I believed, they would believe."

The chances of even playing any overtime basketball didn't look good late in regulation. Down 69-59 with 2:42 on the clock, the story was grim for the Pacers, but Council wasn't going to end his final home game without a fight. He calmly knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner, drawing contact in the process, and then went to the line to complete a four-point play that brought the Pacers within six.

"We were constantly looking for somebody to get us going," said Alexander. "Finally we decided we just had to let Sterling create. He's a clutch player, and we just had to let him go."

FMU answered with a layup at the other end, but 30 seconds later, Nelson connected on a 3-pointer from the opposite corner, trimming the Patriot advantage to 72-67.

The Pacers pulled even closer after the visitors were called for 5 seconds on the inbounds pass, and Council made it a one-possession game by getting to the rim for an easy basket.

Montevallo made a pair of free throws on its next possession to go back up five, but Nelson knocked down another deep 3, this one with a man in his face, to bring the Pacers within two.

"We count on him," said Council of his fellow point guard. "He hit some big shots."

The teams traded buckets on the next two possessions, but with 14.9 seconds to go, Turner stepped on the baseline trying to get free from a Pacer trap, and USCA got the ball back down two. Nelson's driving layup with 5 seconds to play tied the game, and a last-second FMU prayer wasn't answered, sending the contest to overtime.

The Patriots again looked ready to put the game on ice when Turner knocked down a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left in the first overtime to put his team up by three, but Nelson used his head to give the Pacers a chance, using his body to draw a foul on a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Nelson sandwiched a make in between two misses, but the second miss went into the hands of Joel Gierbolini, who gave it off to Holmes for the lay in.

The senior, who finished with 19 points and 12 boards, connected, scoring the 1,000th point of his college career - the first two years played at Presbyterian College - and drew the foul as well. His free throw put USCA ahead 86-85 and brought the crowd to its feet.

"My main focus was just to crash the boards," said Holmes. "We're going to miss shots, and I want to be the one to clean it up, because I know I can be. I had confidence he would make it, but I told myself to crash really hard just in case."

FMU wouldn't go away, and Marcel Williams drew a foul on the other end, making the first free throw to tie the game. His second missed the mark, but Nelson's long 3-pointer at the buzzer was off, sending the game into a second extra period, where USCA finally closed the deal.

USCA's group of seniors - which also included Jeremiah Pojah, who grabbed four rebounds in the victory - didn't get the job done without help. Nelson finished with 21 points and three assists, and Rick Alderman, who was the story of the opening half with 15 points, finished with 17 before fouling out. Joel Gierbolini helped the Pacers' inside game, which outscored FMU 46-32 in the paint, with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds. USCA outrebounded the visitors 49-39 and scored 17 second-chance points.

"Our post play was big," said Council. "When they're doing well, that opens up things for us guards, and that's what happened tonight."

USCA led 40-39 at halftime, after shooting 51.6 percent in the opening period, but it went cold out of the locker room and missed its first nine shots of the second half. The Pacers didn't score until Alderman connected on a turnaround with 14:33 to play in regulation, but by that time they were down 46-42, and it took a long time to get back.

"We just had heart," said Council. "We never quit fighting, and we stayed together as a team. We just kept shooting with confidence and trying to get to the basket"

FMU's season came to an end with the loss. The Patriots finished fifth in the PBC East and will miss the PBC Championships in Columbus, Ga., March 1-4.

USCA knows it will be there, and with and will be a No. 1 seed as the East champion. With a win Saturday at Flagler (9-16, 2-15), though, the Pacers will lock up something even bigger - the overall PBC regular season title.

"We have to be ready to play our hearts out," said Alexander. "They have nothing to lose, and I know they're going to play hard. But if we can go down there and win, we're Peach Belt champs. That's all that matters to me."

Cam Huffman has been the sports editor of the Aiken Standard since November 2006. He is a Lewisburg, W.Va., native and a graduate of West Virginia University.

FMU 39 37 10 12 - 98

USCA 40 36 10 19 - 105

FMU (16-12, 9-9 PBC) Liki Turner 4-10 11-14 20, Zamarius McLendon 4-7 4-5 12, Andrew Smith 3-7 0-0 6, Marcus Wright 5-11 1-2 13, Evrik Gary 8-17 0-0 19, Clayton Williams 2-3 1-2 6, Maurice Grant 0-2 1-2 1, Darryn Frazier 2-6 9-9 13, Marcel Williams 1-5 6-10 8. Totals 29-68 33-44 98.

3-pointers: Gary (3), Wright (2), Williams, Turner.

USCA (19-6, 13-4 PBC) Jeremiah Pojah 0-2 0-0 0, Rick Alderman 7-8 3-3 17, Re'mon Nelson 6-13 7-12 21, Sterling Council 11-20 7-7 33, Chase Holmes 7-15 4-6 19, Joel Gierbolini 2-5 4-6 8, Terrance Dent 1-3 0-0 3, Ronald Zimmerman 0-3 0-0 0, Jesse Seilern 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 33-75 27-36 105.

3-pointers: Council (4), Nelson (2), Holmes, Dent.