NCAA Men's Regional - USC Aiken Advances to Final 85-72 over Catawba

AUGUSTA, GA – The second-seeded USC Aiken Pacers shot 51% from the field and 50% from three-point range as they defeated #6 Catawba 85-72 in the second round of the NCAA Southeast Regional tournament on Sunday in Augusta. With that win, the Pacers advance to the regional final in the round of 16 for the first time in school history and will face the winner of the Barton/Augusta State semifinal on Tuesday night at 7:00 with an invitation to the Elite Eight on the line.

USC Aiken, ranked #16 in the nation, improves to 25-7 on the year while Catawba sees their season come to a close with a 22-10 record.

Cordaryl Ballard was one of five Pacers to score in double figures, leading the team with 18 points. It is only the second game this season Ballard has led the Pacers in scoring. Javonte Clanton had 17 with six rebounds while Josh Dollard added 16 points and 14 rebounds despite playing only 17 minutes due to foul trouble. Seth Leonard and Chris Commons scored 11 each.

Catawba was led by Rob Fields who came off the bench to lead all scorers with 24 points. Antonio Houston added 16 while Dominick Reid had 12 with seven assists. Donald Rutherford scored 10 with a team-high six rebounds.

USC Aiken began the game on a tear from three-point range, hitting four of their first six shots from long range and collecting seven threes in the first half alone. Catawba kept pace and trailed 12-10 with 16:23 left following a jumper from Cliff Burns when USC Aiken went on a 16-6 run over the next nine minutes, holding Catawba scoreless for five minutes.

The Indians got back on track and cut the lead back to 10 with 7:11 to go in the first following a jumper from Rutherford, but USCA answered with five straight points from Dollard, who collected a double-double in the first half alone with 13 points and 10 rebounds. USCA answered the final four Catawba scores with buckets of their own, including five straight points from Ballard, to lead 47-30 at the half.

The Pacers kept up the pressure in the second, extending the lead to 21 in the early going a Clanton three-pointer and a Ballard jumper. Catawba responded with the guard duo of Reid and Fields, who combined to score 15 of Catawba’s next 17 points as part of a 17-8 run that cut the lead to 12 with 9:54 to play.

USC Aiken maintained that lead for the next five minutes until the Indians connected on a Houston three-pointer with 3:52 left that cut the lead to single digits for the first time in the period. Catawba got as close as eight with 3:17 to go on a turnaround layup from Burns, but Catawba would score only three points in the final three minutes, going 1-for-9 from the field. The Pacers hit four of six free throws in the final 44 seconds to preserve the win.

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