USCA has record performance in rout of Young Harris

Kyle Dawson, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Jan. 23—USC AIKEN 115, YOUNG HARRIS 87

It would have been easy for the USC Aiken men's basketball team to look past Young Harris on Saturday.

The Pacers were coming off an emotional win Wednesday over Clayton State and, with rival Augusta looming next Wednesday, they could've taken lightly a team still without a win in conference play.

They didn't do that.

USCA burned down the nets and held a potent Young Harris offense in check in a 115-87 victory that is the Pacers' third in a row.

"The guys fulfilled all of the goals that we wanted in this game. More importantly, the thing that I saw more than anything was the contagiousness of camaraderie," said Pacers head coach Mark Vanderslice. "The guys on the court were there for each other. The guys off the court were there for each other. That type of spirit and that type of camaraderie is contagious, and we want that to continue. We want that momentum to carry over into our next game and the rest of the season."

The Pacers (12-5, 6-1 Peach Belt Conference) shot 57.9% from the floor for the game, and they hit 63.4% of their shots in the second half as they built a lead that reached as many as 30 points. Four players scored in double figures, led by a career-high 26 from Preston Parks. Parks hit five of the Pacers' 10 3-pointers, and he added five assists and a pair of steals.

"All of us come ready," Parks said. "We all get in the gym. We all shoot a lot of shots. We all believe in each other. We all trust in each other to make shots. We know when we're open, each one of us can hit it."

Tehree Horn followed up a career-best 30-point, 10-rebound performance against Clayton State with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting and eight boards. Jalen McCoy made eight of 11 shots for 16 points, and David Strother was 6-for-10 for 14 points.

"They play a zone, so we just tried to find the gaps between the zone and attack from there," said Horn. "Shots were falling tonight, and just trying to get into the paint and make plays."

The 115 points is the fourth-most in a single game in the program's Division II era, and it's the most the Pacers have ever scored against a PBC opponent. By the end of the game, Parks, Horn and other Pacer starters were on the bench watching as Melvin Archie came off the bench for his first career bucket.

They earned that luxury with an all-time offensive performance, plus a strong night defensively against a Young Harris (3-14, 0-8) offense that can score in bunches.

"We kept them under 40%, or right at 40%. If we can keep them under 42, I think that's a pretty reasonable objective," Vanderslice said. "I was proud of them. It could be easy to get into foul trouble, especially against a team that puts so much onus on driving to the bucket. They want to touch the paint on every drive, and we did a good job of switching up. We did a good job of touching and talking. A lot of little things that are going to carry weight through the next couple of games. We want these habits to continue, and I thought they did a good job of it."

Now the Pacers' attention can turn toward preparing to take a big test at Augusta on Wednesday. The Jaguars dropped to 4-3 in conference play with a loss Saturday at Flagler.