GREENWOOD, SC -- For the second straight game it came down to a shot in the closing seconds. And for the second straight game it was Lincoln Memorial who fell on the short end of the stick as USC Aiken's Emry Tsitouris hit a shot as time expired to propel the Pacers (1-1) past the Lady Railsplitters (0-2) 68-66 Saturday afternoon in the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge in Greenwood, S.C.
 
After also dropping Friday night's season opener to Lander on a last-second bucket, Lincoln Memorial falls to 0-2 on the season and will travel to Lees-McRae for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday in hopes of securing their first win. Aiken improves to 1-1 and returns to action on Wednesday as well to host Wingate.
 
The Pacers had the hot hand early as they went out to the 12-6 lead with 4:32 left in the first quarter. An Emily Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) jumper cut it to 14-10 before the Pacers used a Tsitouris jumper and a Baylea Loven free throw to carry a 17-10 lead at the end of the first period.
 
LMU cut it to two twice in the second period before taking the 25-24 lead on a three-pointer by Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) with 2:42 left in the half. The Lady Railsplitters, who ended the half on a 15-4 run and outscored the Pacers 24-13 in the quarter thanks to three Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) three-pointers, would take a 34-28 lead into halftime break.
 
The third period saw the Lady Railsplitters build the lead to eight on a rebound and putback by Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) at the 4:58 mark, but USC-Aiken would try to chip away at the lead before the quarter closed, cutting the deficit to 42-39 on a Loven jumper with 3:41 to play in the frame. Lincoln Memorial would build the lead back to seven at 46-39 on a jumper by Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) at 2:48, but a bucket by Tsitouris with 12 seconds left - a harbinger of things to come - cut the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 46-43 at the end of the third stanza.
 
The fourth period saw the Lady Railsplitters race back out to an eight-point lead off of a Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) jumper with 7:05 remaining. The Pacers would then go on a 10-3 run to cut it to 56-55 before Harding sunk two free throws to put the Lady Railsplitters up by three with 3:20 to play. USC-Aiken would eventually take the lead off a jumper in the paint by Loven with 2:40 remaining. After LMU took the lead again on a pair free throws, Loven tied the score at 64-64 with 39 seconds left. An LMU foul put Tsitouris at the line, where she gave the Pacers the lead only to see a layup by Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) tie it again at 66-66 with 16 seconds left. After a timeout, USC Aiken inbounded the ball and Stephanie Ball drove into the paint and kicked it out to Tsitouris, who put it in as time expired.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were led by Harding's career-high 22 points and seven rebounds. Anderson had 13 points and Rawls added in 10. The Lady Railsplitters hit 51.1 percent (24-47) from the field, 83.3 percent (5-6) from behind the arc and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the free throw line.
 
The Pacers hit 39.1 percent (25-64) from the field, 36.8 percent (7-19) from three-point range and 84.6 percent (11-13) from the free throw line.
 
Tsitouris led USC Aiken with 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line while tallying a game-high 10 rebounds. Loven contributed 14 points in 25 minutes off the bench while Ball chipped in 13 points, eight assists and four steals. Alexis Ware posted 11 points with three three-pointers.
 
Rebounding was nearly even, with Lincoln Memorial holding a slight 33-32 advantage on the boards. It was a sloppy game for both sides as the Pacers converted 24 LMU turnovers into 29 points while the Lady Railsplitters turned 17 Pacer miscues into 17 points. The big difference was on the offensive glass, where USC Aiken grabbed 18 offensive boards and converted those into 24 second-chance points. The Lady Railsplitters had 11 offensive boards and only 11 second-chance points.
 
The Lady Railsplitters assisted on 17 of their 24 field goals in the game. Anderson led Lincoln Memorial with a career-high four assists to go along with her career-high point total.