AIKEN, S.C. – A driving layup by Jalin Barnes with 2.8 seconds left helped USC Aiken deliver the game's final dagger as the Pacers snapped the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team's five-game win streak with an 83-81 comeback victory over the Braves on Saturday evening in the Convocation Center.
 
The setback snapped a five-game Peach Belt Conference winning skein for the Braves (14-5, 7-3 PBC) whose last four losses have come by a total of eight points. It was the sixth-straight victory for the Pacers (12-4, 6-3) who improved to 10-1 at home this season with the result as well.
 
Nigel Grant scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead UNCP who was out-rebounded (39-35) for the first time in eight games. Brandon Watts chipped in 15 points, and all-American Quamain Rose tallied 10. Freshman Akia Pruitt finished with 10 points and seven boards as well.
 
Henry Bolton scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Pacers who connected on better than 57 percent of their shots from the field in the second half, including a 6-of-9 clip from the perimeter. Barnes and Mark Matthews added 15 points to the upset victory as well.
 
UNCP led by as many as 12 points, 54-42, after Grant's free throw just less than five minutes into the second half, but USC Aiken put together a 22-5 run later in the period and eventually grabbed its first lead of the contest, 71-69, on a fastbreak jumper by Grimes with 5:46 remaining. Matthews gave the hosts an 80-76 advantage with 1:22 to play, but UNCP rallied to score five of the game's next six points, including Rose's 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that tied it at 81 apiece.
 
The Braves led for more than 19-1/2 minutes in the opening half, but were unable to forge a considerable amount of breathing room for themselves. UNCP led by as much as seven points, 20-13, after Quamain Rose's 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark, but the Pacers followed with an 8-2 run to pull to within one point less than two minutes later. A short jumper by Murray-Boyles with 1:39 left before the break, coupled with a steal by the UNCP sophomore on the other end of the court, allowed the Black & Gold to take a 39-35 lead into halftime.
 
The Braves will get a rare week-long break from competition before resuming their 2016-17 slate on January 28 against Armstrong State (7-11, 2-7) at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.