Pacers' rally comes up short, season ends in Sweet 16

Mar. 15—No. 3 LINCOLN MEMORIAL 89,

No. 4 USC AIKEN 83

AUGUSTA — They almost pulled it off.

Down 16 points with 3:54 left in their season, the USC Aiken men's basketball team almost came all the way back in Tuesday's Southeast Region final against Lincoln Memorial.

A 3-point barrage from an unlikely sharpshooter, freshmen hitting upperclassman shots and turnovers forced by the desperate-mark pressure defense brought the Pacers to within two with 35 seconds to play, but that was as close as they could get.

Third-seeded Lincoln Memorial survived to claim the Southeast Region title and Elite Eight berth that comes with it after an 89-83 victory, one that fourth-seeded USCA nearly stole with an all-timer of a comeback.

"It's hard to put into words the season, the year, the game that we just played," said USCA head coach Mark Vanderslice. "I think that those last 5 minutes kind of encompassed what the spirit of our team has been all year, which is kind of a never say die, never give up, united, family — the words could just keep coming.

"I'm just so proud of the fellas. While it didn't end the way we wanted it to, Lincoln Memorial just had a good game. ... We put ourselves in a position to win, and that's all we can ask for. I'm just so impressed with the spirit and the fortitude and resilience of guys like (senior Samba Ndiaye) who have given their heart and soul all year."

A Luke Bartemes layup put Lincoln Memorial (30-4) ahead 75-59 at the under-4 media timeout, meaning USCA was going to have to find a spark — and light it fast — against a Railsplitters defense that minimizes its opponents' efficiency from 3-point shots.

Karon Boyd muscled his way to a tough bucket to get it to 14, and then the Pacers' full-court press created back-to-back buckets. Still, they were going to need to make something from deep to make up that much ground in that little time.

So leave it to Jalen McCoy, their old-school post presence that reminds Vanderslice of a 1980s NBA Films marathon, to catch fire.

McCoy buried four consecutive 3s, each lefty launch further exciting the pro-Pacers crowd in Augusta's Christenberry Fieldhouse, and drained all three free throws when he was fouled on the one 3 he missed.

Jameel Rideout added a triple of his own, and just like that it was 85-83 with 35 seconds remaining.

Here's the thing about comebacks, though — they require cooperation from both teams, and the Railsplitters refused to fully commit to the bit.

The two turnovers helped start the rally, but when the Pacers couldn't get the steal and had to foul the Railsplitters were perfect — they went 14-for-14 from the free throw line over the final 2:50, and for the game they were 21-for-22.

That spoiled the comeback, and it ended the Pacers' hopes of reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 2014.

McCoy led the way for the Pacers (24-9) with one of the great performances in program history, scoring a career-high 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting with four rebounds, four steals and two blocks. His 34 points are the most scored in an NCAA Tournament game in USCA history, breaking Ron Zimmerman's record of 33 in the Elite Eight in 2014, and he came into Tuesday night with six made 3-pointers in 18 attempts for the season before making four in the most important 2:42 of the season.

"Oh my goodness. Is he clutch or what? ... Not just the last 3 or 4 minutes, but he's got some character, man," Vanderslice said. "That kid, I mean, the fact that he was able to put a performance like that together all game, plus the 5-minute stretch that he had, was unbelievable. I'm almost like I'm not even really a coach at that point — I'm a spectator. I'm just, like, 'What is going on? Jalen McCoy, having the game of his life.' Yeah, he was unbelievable."

Boyd had 16 points and six rebounds, and fellow freshman Rideout had 13 points and seven boards.

Five Lincoln Memorial players scored in double figures, and they beat the Pacers at their own game by winning the rebounding battle by eight. The Railsplitters torched the nets for nine 3-pointers in 16 attempts in the first half, and they shot 51.5% from the floor for the first 20 minutes to take a seven-point lead into the break.

The Pacers held them to a lower percentage in the second half, but not enough to get near that 42% mark they shoot for.

"We were just trying to put them in a position where we could take away their rhythm," Vanderslice explained. "Some people may ask why go zone if they're hitting 3s? Well, they hit nine 3s in man, so we've got to do something to switch things up. In the second half we just said, you know what, we're going to go guns a-blazing, and that's what we did."

The Pacers went with the full-court pressure with around 4 minutes remaining, that desperation mark Vanderslice talked about after the Pacers nearly overcame a 25-point deficit with under 8 minutes to play in the PBC semifinals against Lander. He said that his players stick together and fight for one another, and them responding that way to another big deficit proves that behavior is a habit and not a fluke.

USCA, which went on a six-game winning streak to clinch the Peach Belt Conference regular season title and then beat rival Augusta for a third time this season to eliminate the Jaguars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, heads into the offseason on a positive note despite the loss.

The Pacers are set to bring back their entire roster except for Ndiaye, the team's 6-foot-9 center and lone senior. Vanderslice praised Ndiaye for using his maturity to take some of the freshmen of the last couple of years under his wing, and also for how he responded to an increased workload late in the season and found a way to make an impact.

"I just love these boys, man," Ndiaye said. "It was a beautiful run. We went through ups and downs. I just love them boys. We never gave up on anything. I just know that this team is going to be back here next year, for sure."

Next year will require a different mentality, though. The expectations will be the highest they've been in a decade, and the Pacers won't be flying under anyone's radar after what they accomplished this year and with what they have returning.

"Like I told Samba, I think he was part of being a trailblazer for the years to come," Vanderslice said. "I'm hoping that now we're in position where we're going to have to take on a different approach going into next year. We can't come from behind and sneak up on people anymore. I think now, with pretty much everybody coming back, we'll re-group and I think people will see that 'X' on our back and they'll be ready to say USC Aiken is somebody we've got to circle on our schedule."