AIKEN, S.C. – GRU Augusta's season came to a halt on Sunday night when top-ranked USC Aiken handed the Jaguars a 78-58 loss in the semifinal game of the NCAA Southeast Regional in the Convocation Center.

GRU (24-8) won the scramble for the opening tipoff, but Ryan Weems missed a finger-roll layup and Alvin Brown connected on a jumper for the Pacers (31-3) to take the first points of the game. After Harold Doby hit one off the glass for the Jags, Brown caught a lob pass from Devontae Wright and slammed it home to ignite the crowd and spark a 5-0 Pacer run around the first media timeout.

The Jaguars recorded a 30.4 field-goal percentage in the game – their worst of the season since Jan. 20 at Georgia College. GRU was just 2-of-9 from the field in the opening six minutes and couldn't find a rhythm at the free-throw line. They made 22-of-31 free throws, while the Pacers connected on 31-of-37. The Jags grabbed 15 offensive rebounds (39 total), but only made two 3-pointers on 10 looks.

Henry McCarthy cut the USCA lead back to five with two made free throws and the Jags forced two bad shots from beyond the arc to keep a two-possession game intact. Paul Larsen completed a three-point play and USCA slowly reassembled their big lead as the Jags were shooting 24 percent from the floor (5-of-21) midway through the first.

Aiken's Ronald Zimmerman, the Peach Belt Conference's third best shooter from beyond the arc, hit his third 3-pointer in the opening half to give the Pacers a 29-17 advantage. Wright went down after he committed a turnover with 4:26 on the clock for Grant Harris to enter the game. The Jags capitalized when Ronell Crockett came off the bench and hit a jumper from the corner to lift the Jaguar crowd to their feet. Crockett's one-handed jumper bounced around the rim and tied the game at 29-all under a minute in the first half. The Pacers were ahead 31-29 at the halftime whistle, paced by Zimmerman's game-high nine points.

KJ Sherrill hit the first basket of the second half, but fouled Brown who successfully made the 3-point play. Doby was called for a flagrant foul away from the ball to give the Pacers two at the charity stripe and the ball. Wright's free throw made it a 10-point game, but Jaguar head coach Dip Metress inserted Crockett from the bench again for him to hit an 18-foot jumper for a 46-40 score.

Jags starter Devon Wright-Nelson, who paced the Jags with 28 points in their quarterfinal win over Anderson yesterday on March 15, got his fourth foul with 10 minutes left in the game, while Keshun Sherrill also got into foul issues. The Pacers built a 53-41 lead off more Wright free throws, but Weems and Crockett slowed them down with tough layups in transition. Both teams answered offensive fouls with the Jags down 56-48 when the Pacers drew numerous fouls and got to the line to score their next seven points. Zimmerman hit another three ball and Doby was ejected for a hard foul to give the Pacers more free throws where they held off the Jags for the 78-58 final.

Weems and brothers KJ and Keshun Sherrill all added 12 points each in the loss, while Crockett added nine and Doby grabbing 12 rebounds. Wright scored a game-high 19 for the Pacers, while big man Alvin Brown notched 16 with nine blocks. The Pacers shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 83.8 from the free-throw line.