AIKEN, S.C. -- USC Aiken overcame an early 11-point deficit, built a 15-point second half lead, and held on for a 70-67 upset win victory over No.5 Augusta State Wednesday night in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both teams at the USCA Convocation Center.

For the Pacers, the win snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Jaguars. ASU’s lost loss to Aiken took place during the 2001-02 season, while the Jags’ last setback in Aiken came seven seasons ago, a 53-51 decision on Jan. 17, 2001.

ASU senior forward Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman had 18 points despite a sub-par shooting performance. Bowman was just 4-of-17 from the field, but connected on 10-of-12 free-throw attempts. Sophomore guard/forward Ben Madgen booked his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and junior center Garret Siler posted his third double-double in four games with 10 points and 10 boards.

Chris Commons led four Pacers in double figures with a game-high 21 points. Jeremy Fears came off the bench to score 16 while Kingsley Oguchi and Job Casimir added 11 and 10, respectively.

It looked like ASU-USCA games of recent memory early on as the visiting Jaguars opened up an early 16-5 lead on a 9-1 run capped by five straight points from freshman guard/forward Caleb Brown and a jumper by Ben Madgen.

The hosts responded to cut the margin to four at 16-12 before another ASU spurt lifted the Jags to their biggest lead of the night at the 7:29 mark of the first half on a Madgen three-pointer that put the visitors ahead 26-15.

Instead of the Jags running away with the contest, USC Aiken responded with a spurt of its own end to the half. Commons answered the Madgen trey with one of his own. After ASU’s Steve Smith scored on a layup, Oguchi began a run with a triple to cut the lead to 28-22.

Moments later, a short jumper by Commons in the paint at the 2:21 mark gave the Pacers their first lead of the game at 31-30. The Jaguars’ Luke Tambon responded on the other end, but the hosts finished the half with seven-straight points and used a Casimir layup at the buzzer to lead 38-32 at the break.

After falling behind by 11 points with just over seven minutes in the period, USC Aiken outscored their counterparts 23-6 to end the half. Commons had 12 in the frame while Oguchi chipped in eight.

The Pacers benefited from the absence of two of ASU’s best players toward the end of the half. Junior center Garret Siler picked up his second foul and went to the bench with 12:35 remaining, and reigning PBC Player-of-the-Year A.J. Bowman left with two fouls with 5:26 on the clock.

After the Jaguars scored the first four points of the second half, USC Aiken’s Fears sparked a 10-0 Pacer run to extend the lead to 49-36. The majority of that run came when Commons went to the bench with four fouls at the 16:25 mark. Fears stepped up to score the team’s next seven points.

An Oguchi free throw extended the USC Aiken lead to a game-high 15 points at 56-41 with 11:27 remaining, but the Jaguars immediately responded with a run.

After sitting with four fouls of his alone, Siler returned to score six points as part of 13-3 run that whittled the USCA lead to just three at 57-54.

Over the final five minutes, ASU closed to within one point on four occasions, but each time USC Aiken responded.

The last was on two free throws from Madgen to make it 67-66 with 2:18 remaining. Neither team would score over the next 1:50 as both teams had empty possessions. When Bowman missed a jumper and with 28 seconds left, the game was in the hands of USC Aiken free throw shooters.

Fears knocked down a pair for a 69-66 lead. ASU set up a play for a game-tying three, but Steve Smith’s try was off and Commons collected the rebound. He knocked down one of two for the final margin.

For the game, ASU was held to just 29.9 percent shooting from the floor, well under their season average. Coming in hitting nearly 45 percent from long range, the Jags made just 3-for-22 from long range.

ASU looks to bounce back Saturday when the Jags host Georgia College & State in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
Augusta State vs USC Aiken
11/28/07 7:30 p.m. at Aiken, S.C. (Convocation Center)
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VISITORS: Augusta State 3-1, 0-1 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Madgen, Ben......... f  5-14   1-3    4-4    1 11 12   4  15  3  1  0  3  38
23 Bowman, Tyrekus..... f  4-17   0-3   10-12   4  2  6   4  18  1  5  2  0  30
21 Siler, Garret....... c  3-7    0-0    4-6    4  6 10   5  10  0  0  0  0  17
00 Dixon, Daniel....... g  3-12   1-7    1-3    2  1  3   1   8  1  0  0  2  30
02 Smith, Steve........ g  1-4    0-3    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  1  0  0  1  26
03 Howard, Demetrius...    1-8    1-5    2-2    2  3  5   0   5  0  0  0  0  24
04 Quarles, Jamie......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
05 Killeen, Jason......    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   2   0  0  0  0  0   3
10 Wright, Tom.........    0-0    0-0    0-2    1  1  2   0   0  2  0  0  1   5
15 Ilunga, Etsho.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
24 Brown, Caleb........    2-3    0-1    1-1    0  1  1   4   5  0  1  1  0  15
33 Tambon, Luke........    1-1    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   1   4  1  0  0  0   7
   TEAM................                         3  1  4
   Totals..............   20-67   3-22  24-32  18 26 44  22  67  9  7  3  7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-38 28.9%   2nd Half:  9-29 31.0%   Game: 29.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-14 21.4%   2nd Half:  0-8   0.0%   Game: 13.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-7  100 %   2nd Half: 17-25 68.0%   Game: 75.0%    4

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HOME TEAM: USC Aiken 4-0, 1-0 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
13 McMasters, Casey.... f  1-5    1-4    0-0    0  2  2   1   3  1  1  0  0  27
24 Commons, Chris...... f  8-17   2-7    3-6    1  6  7   4  21  2  1  2  0  29
33 Egwuatu, Brian...... c  0-2    0-0    1-4    1  0  1   4   1  0  1  0  0   8
01 Casimir, Job........ g  3-7    0-1    4-4    2  1  3   1  10  3  5  0  1  24
20 Oguchi, Kingsley.... g  3-8    2-5    3-4    2  3  5   5  11  0  1  1  1  36
03 Fears, Jeremy.......    4-13   1-6    7-8    2  4  6   1  16  5  2  0  0  26
04 Gadomski, Jakub.....    1-1    0-0    0-1    1  3  4   3   2  0  1  0  0  16
15 Dongo, Jores........    1-2    0-0    2-2    2  6  8   5   4  1  2  2  1  22
22 Oates, Theo.........    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   1   2  0  0  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         2  6  8
   Totals..............   22-56   6-23  20-29  14 33 47  25  70 12 14  5  3 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7%   2nd Half: 10-25 40.0%   Game: 39.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-16 31.3%   2nd Half:  1-7  14.3%   Game: 26.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-13 69.2%   2nd Half: 11-16 68.8%   Game: 69.0%    3

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Officials: Jerome Hall (R), Carl Pundt (U1), Kenny Pate (U2)
Technical fouls: Augusta State-None. USC Aiken-None.
Attendance: 1765
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Augusta State.................   32   35  -   67
USC Aiken.....................   38   32  -   70
ASU enters the game ranked #5 in Division II.
USCA snaps nine-game losing streak to Augusta State.

Points in the paint-ASU 26,USCA 30. Points off turnovers-ASU 15,USCA 12.
2nd chance points-ASU 20,USCA 6. Fast break points-ASU 4,USCA 6.
Bench points-ASU 14,USCA 24. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-ASU 2nd-02:48, USCA 2nd-02:36.