AIKEN, S.C. – USC Aiken's Caleb Stewart scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Pacers to an 89-75 victory over the Benedict Tigers on Wednesday night in a men's basketball contest.

The loss dropped Benedict to 1-4 on the season. USC Aiken improved to 4-4.

Stewart hit 17 of his points in the second half as the Pacers out-scored the Tigers 59-47. USC Aiken shot 69 percent in the second half.

Andrew Crawford led the Tigers with 19 points, while Brennan Reynard added 17.

Dominic Early had a double-double for the Pacers with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

USC Aiken led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but the Tigers rallied to cut the lead to 30-28 at the half as Crawford made a three-point play with two seconds left in the half.

The Pacers pulled ahead by 11 points in the second half before the Tigers scored eight straight points to cut the lead to 52-49 with 10:49 left to play. The Pacers later went on a 9-0 run to push the lead to 63-51 on a dunk by Early with 6:56 left to play. Kareem Ransom hit a 3-pointer for the Tigers, but the Pacers pulled away with the next six points and kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Benedict will play a pair of exhibition games before the holiday break, with games at home against Carver College on Wednesday and a road game at Life College on Dec. 13. Conference games start with a home game against Stillman on Jan. 3.