AIKEN, S.C. – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball dropped its final road game of the season in a 76-62 Peach Belt Conference loss at USC Aiken on Wednesday. 

The Nighthawks (16-13, 8-9 Peach Belt) now sit in seventh place in the PBC standings after the defeat from the Pacers (19-8, 12-5 Peach Belt).

UNG has one regular season game remaining against Clayton State on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 3:30 p.m. A win against the Lakers could elevate the Nighthawks to at least sixth place in the PBC standings. This would likely mean the No. 6-seed in the PBC Tournament and a rematch against USC Aiken in the first round.

On Wednesday night, UNG ran into a Pacers team that was intent on seemingly making every shot it took. 

In the first half, USC Aiken shot 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) and a crushing 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from three-point range.

Despite 24 of the Pacers' 38 first-half points coming from downtown (which was a statistical anomaly as USC Aiken entered the game scoring only 24.3 percent of its points from downtown this season. That mark jumped to 63.1 percent in the first half against the Nighthawks) UNG only trailed 38-31 at the halftime break.

The Nighthawks kept it close thanks to its own lights-out shooting performance from senior guard Hunter Shedenhelm in the first half. Shedenhelm drilled four triples in the first half as he ended the period with 12 points to lead all scorers.

In the second half, Pacer guard Caleb Byrd began to match Shedenhelm as he caught fire from deep range. In just 67 seconds, Byrd drained three triples to take USC Aiken's lead from seven points to 16. 

From there the Pacers continued to make shots. USC Aiken eventually took its largest lead of the game at the 7:06 mark with yet another three, this time from Rhyjon Blackwell.

The Pacers never looked back as five scorers finished in double figures. Byrd and Shedenhelm continued to trade theatrical threes throughout the night as both shooters finished with a game-high 20 points and six made triples. Shedenhelm tied his career-high for made three pointers in a game as he also tied a season-high with his second 20-point outing. 

Junior guard AJ White made some history in the loss however. The Memphis, Tenn. dropped in 11 points to contribute to his now career total of 1,480 points. The performance moved White past Shaquan Cantrell in the UNG record book with the second-most career points in the NCAA Division II era (2005) in program history. 

Now the Nighthawks look ahead to a regular season finale with Clayton State at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center on Saturday, Mar. 1. UNG will celebrate Senior Day at the game which tips off at 3:30 p.m.