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PEMBROKE – Ronald Zimmerman connected on 31 points for the visiting USC Aiken Pacers en route to halting the nationally-ranked UNC Pembroke men's basketball team, 75-58, on Saturday afternoon in the opening contest of the 2013-14 Peach Belt Conference campaign in the English E. Jones Center.

The No. 22 Braves (8-1, 0-1 PBC) suffered their first loss of the season as the Pacers (8-2, 1-0) snapped UNCP's eight-game winning streak. USC Aiken grabbed its third-consecutive victory with the 17-point win over the Black and Gold.

Junior Ben Jacobs led the Braves' offense with 15 points, while sophomore Quamain Rose added 13, was the rebounding leader with eight during his 36 minutes played and also dished out four assists. Brandon Winford picked up eight points and seven rebounds, while junior Griffin Pittman tallied eight points as well.

Despite being out-rebounded 41-31, the Black and Gold forced the Pacers to commit 21 turnovers which resulted in 24 points for UNCP. The Braves battled in the second half and allowed USC Aiken the opportunity to score just one more point, but the first half set the pace of the game that UNCP was unable to overcome. 

"Congratulations to Coach Alexander and his team. I think they are a great program and I have a lot of respect for them," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "Obviously he had his bunch much more prepared and ready to play than we did, so congrats to USC Aiken because they played a great ball game."

Zimmerman was 11-for-23 from the field, knocked down seven 3-pointers and carried a team-high eight rebounds, while DeVontae Wright registered 17 points and a team-best six assists. The Pacers shot 50.0 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from behind the arc, while also holding the Braves scoreless on their 13-0 run in the first half. 

"This experience [losing] is different for this team so it will be interesting to see how they respond and bounce back. The whole key in basketball and life is how to respond to adversity. This will be a test for us to go on the road with a quick turnaround time, but it think it will be good for our guys to get back out there on the court quickly and see if we can play better," Miller said.

The Braves will head to Greenwood, S.C. to face fellow PBC East Division team Lander (4-4, 0-1) on Monday in the Horne Arena with tipoff for the second game of the doubleheader set for 7:30 p.m.

To watch the full game click HERE.