PEMBROKE – Despite 12 blocks defensively, a 20-to-8 advantage in made free throws and a season-low 10 turnovers, the UNCP men's basketball team was upended by visiting USC Aiken by a 69-65 final on Wednesday evening in at the English E. Jones Center in Pembroke.

The loss was the third-straight for the Braves (14-10, 7-9 PBC) and they now find themselves as the fifth team in the Peach Belt Conference's East Division standings, and as the odd team out with two games left to decided the tournament qualifiers.

The Pacers (14-9, 8-8 PBC) leapfrogged the Braves from fifth in the standings to fourth with the victory, and have remaining games against Armstrong Atlantic and Lander. The Braves will host Armstrong Atlantic next Wednesday before closing out their regular season next Saturday against Flagler in St. Augustine, Fla.

UNCP started off slowly, allowing the visitors to take a quick 14-4 lead through the first 5:50 of the game, a lead they would push out to as much as 14 with 8:43 remaining in the half, but UNCP would close out the stanza with a 16-to-3 run to cut the deficit to one point, 30-29 at halftime.

The second half proved to even more competitive with no lead for either team occurring by more than three points until USC Aiken took a 66-62 lead with 28 second remaining. UNCP would narrow the gap to 66-65 on a 3-pointer by junior Marcus Heath, but a foul would put the Pacers' junior Sterling Council at the line. He would make both to push the visitor's lead to 68-65 with 17 seconds remaining. The Braves had two chances to score but both attempts would come up empty.

The Braves were led by senior Chris Hargrove and his 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the floor, but most of his damage came at the free throw line where he was 9-of-10. He also added two assists, three rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes of action.

Big sophomore George Blakeney had a monster night defensively with 11 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks while junior teammate Nathan Priest added four blocks of his own to lead the Braves' defense. Junior Mike Robinson registered a quiet but steady 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor while sophomore Shahmel Brackett rounded out the Braves in double figures with 12 points.

USC Aiken's Re'Mon Nelson led all scoreres with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor, including a 3-of-6 mark from downtown.

UNCP will have a week to regroup before hosting Armstrong Atlantic in a PBC East Division matchup.