Leonard's defensive play lifts Pacers

With the game in the balance in the waning moments, Seth Leonard stepped in the lane and made one of USC Aiken's biggest defensive plays of the year.

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The senior forward took a charge with six seconds remaining and the Pacers held on to upset No. 17 Georgia College & State, 50-46, in the first round of the Division II Tournament at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

USC Aiken (20-10) advances to play Montevallo (24-7) in the Southeast Regional at 5 p.m. today. The contest will be a rematch of last Sunday's Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship game won by the Pacers.

Against Georgia College & State, USC Aiken led by 19 in the first half. The Bobcats came all the way back and had a chance to tie or win at the end at the end. With Georgia College & State down two, guard Andre Mikell drove the lane only to find Leonard in his way. The charge call gave the ball back to USC Aiken.

"I saw he was coming in a little over aggressive," Leonard said. "It worked out for us. ... That's my job."

Leonard's workmanlike performance (team-high 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block) came on a day when the short-handed Pacers needed him.

Forward Kevin Willis, who posted a double-double in the Peach Belt Conference championship game last Sunday, sat out with a back injury -- USC Aiken coach Vince Alexander said he's day-to-day. Forward Jores Dongo was in Africa following the death of his father.

Guard Byron Faison, the conference tournament MVP, scored just three points in 24 minutes. Alexander said he's battling some unspecified sickness along the lines of a cold or flu.

"We're a team," Alexander said. "There's no other way to explain it. The good thing about this team is we don't worry about one person."

Georgia College & State (22-6) killed itself with its inability to make free throws. The Bobcats led the Peach Belt Conference shooting 77 percent from the free-throw line, but they could not replicate that success. Georgia College & State shot 8 for 21 (38 percent) from the stripe, including a 4 for 12 effort in the pivotal second half.

After a dismal start, Georgia College & State shot 40 percent from the field in the second half.

But the Bobcats committed two costly turnovers in the final six seconds, including a travel on Mikell with 1.7 seconds remaining.