After traveling to Augusta State for a "Blackout" earlier this month, USC Aiken is holding one of its own tonight.
The school is holding "Fight for Sight Night" for its doubleheader against UNC Pembroke. The women's game begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by the men's game at 7:30.
USC Aiken is holding the evening in honor of former Lady Pacer guard Meredith Legg , who finished her career last season as the school's all-time leading scorer. Weeks after ending her career, Legg was diagnosed with melanoma in her left eye.
USC Aiken is asking all fans to wear black, the official color of melanoma. The school is accepting funds for melanoma research and is collecting reading and prescription eyeglasses.
THE GOOD FIGHT: The USC Aiken men (14-8, 9-6) are fighting to play host to a Peach Belt Conference Tournament game -- the top two seeds in each division will play host to a quarterfinal contest.
The Pacers closed to within one game of Francis Marion (17-6, 9-5) in the loss column after their Saturday win at then No. 14 Georgia College & State. But the Patriots hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pacers after sweeping their season series. It appeared Francis Marion would lock up the No. 2 seed in the East Division, until it lost three of its past four games -- giving USC Aiken hope. If the Pacers win out and the Patriots lose two games, USC Aiken will get the coveted home tournament game for the quarterfinals.
"We play well at home," said Pacers coach Vince Alexander, whose teams are 36-6 at the convocation center. "We just have to get there."
MAGIC NUMBER: Augusta State's magic number for winning its second consecutive Peach Belt regular season title is two. Any combination of Jaguar wins and Georgia College & State losses will clinch the crown for Augusta State.
The Jaguars play at 7:30 tonight at Flagler, while the Bobcats travel to Georgia Southwestern.
STREAKIN': Augusta State climbed two spots to No. 5 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II men's basketball poll.
It marked the 47th consecutive week the Jaguars have been ranked.
Augusta State has the ninth-longest streak of consecutive weeks ranked in D-II history.
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