AIKEN --- The joyous crowd behind the home bench sang in unison "Happy Birthday To You" to Pacers coach Vince Alexander.

USC Aiken fans had several reasons to celebrate Saturday night.

The fifth-ranked Pacers overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 10 minutes for an 88-83 win over North Georgia in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals at the convocation center.

USC Aiken (27-2), the regular season conference champion, advances to the championship game for the first time since 1993, when they defeated Augusta State. The Pacers will play host to Clayton State at 4:30 p.m. today

"You can never get any sleep going into the championship game," said USC Aiken sophomore guard Seth Leonard, a member of last season's 9-22 team. "It's been a tremendous change in the program. Just to come and turn the season around means a lot."

North Georgia jumped out to a 40-37 halftime lead. The Saints (18-11) extended their advantage to 10 midway through the second half.

A resilient USC Aiken squad used its full-court press to start forcing turnovers. The Pacers began trimming the deficit and got within reach.

Leonard stole a pass at midcourt and took it to the house for a layup to give USC Aiken its first lead of the second half at 72-71 with 5:16 remaining. North Georgia called a timeout. Cody Ballard gave Leonard a bear hug on the way to the bench.

Later, Job Casimir drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing while getting fouled by all-conference guard Andre Morgan, who fouled out on the play. Casimir swished the foul shot to complete the rare four-point play. USC Aiken led 78-75.

"That was a huge dagger for us right there," North Georgia coach Chris Faulkner said.

After North Georgia's Xavier Trice missed a 10-foot jumper, Ballard drove to the hole for a layup. Kingsley Oguchi and Casimir later each added a free throw. USC Aiken went from one down to leading by seven with 1:06 remaining.

USC Aiken's Chris Commons, the co-conference Player of the Year, shot 9-for-17 for a game-high 22 points. Jeremy Fears added 19 points, while Casimir had 16 and Ballard 12.

USC Aiken improved to 15-0 on its home floor. The Pacers defeated the Saints for the third time this season. All three wins came by five points.

Nick Pope scored 21 points to lead North Georgia.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.