Basketball fans arrived early Monday night at Christenberry Fieldhouse for the highly anticipated matchup between the Augusta State and USC Aiken men's basketball teams. But the early birds were treated to a good game before the men hit the floor as the No. 18 Lady Pacers held off Augusta State's late rally for a 72-68 win.

"I love playing in front of a big crowd like that," USC Aiken senior and Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week Meredith Legg said. "The more people, the better."

The Lady Pacers win marked their first victory at Christenberry Fieldhouse since 2002, before Mike Brandt took over as coach.

"It's a huge victory for us. I got the monkey off my back," he said.

"This is the only gym in the conference I haven't won at so there was some self-inflicted pressure there tonight."

The tension was immediate as Augusta State took control early. The Lady Jaguars held a 26-20 lead with 7:21 left in the first half as forward Porsha White scored all 12 of her points before halftime.

Augusta State was buoyed by the return of Nicole Mealing and Tracey Paschal. The Lady Jaguars' top two scorers were available following a suspension for breaking team rules, but they didn't start.

USC Aiken responded with a 15-0 run to turn the six-point deficit into a nine-point lead in less than five minutes.

The Lady Pacers' edge ballooned to as many as 12 points in the second half, but Augusta State came back with an 8-0 run and took the lead with 1:48 left in the game.

Jasmine Godwin's three-point play brought the Lady Jags within two points, and she followed with a three-pointer that gave Augusta State a 66-65 advantage.

"That's just basketball," Legg said. "It's a game of runs. Even in the timeout before that coach said they can come back."

Legg, winless in three tries against the Lady Jaguars in Augusta, led USC Aiken with 19 points, but it was senior Morgan Johnson and junior Kendra Chandler who provided the biggest plays down the stretch. Chandler's pull-up jumper with 1:06 remaining returned the lead to USC Aiken and Johnson, playing on a recently hyperextended knee, blocked Godwin's shot with 47 seconds left.

Godwin found a seam in USC Aiken's defense and penetrated for a shot to tie the game before Johnson made the block.

Chandler added another jumper and two free throws to seal the win as the Lady Jaguars, with White having fouled out, failed to mount another comeback.

Godwin led all scorers with 26 points.

Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.