FLORENCE, S.C. – Junior forward Sam Smith scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the second half to help rally Francis Marion University to an 81-73 victory over Morris College, Thursday night (Nov. 29) in non-conference men’s basketball action.

The Patriots finish their season-opening five-game homestand with a 4-1 mark.  FMU opens Peach Belt Conference play on Saturday afternoon at North Georgia College & State University.

Smith led four FMU players in double digits as Ziyadah Carter scored 12 points and post players Kevin Clark and David Turner each had 10 points.  Smith and Clark each pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.

Junior swingman Nathaniel Thomas, a product of West Florence High School, paced the Hornets (1-8) with 21 points and six rebounds.  Junior Reshrond Tucker, a native of Georgetown, added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while reserve forward Christopher Owens chipped in 15 points.

Thomas’ 15 first-half points helped Morris to a 32-27 advantage at intermission.  Francis Marion scored the game’s opening six points, but Morris quickly rallied to go ahead 9-8.  A layup by Thomas with 1:23 remaining before halftime concluded the first-half scoring and gave the Hornets their largest lead of the stanza.

The lead changed hands several times during the first nine minutes of the second half.  A layup by Clark gave FMU the lead for good at 49-47 with 11:24 left.  However, the Patriots could not shake the pesky Hornets.

A free throw by Owens pulled Morris to within 63-59 with 4:19 remaining.  Francis Marion slowly expanded its lead until Crayton Jones scored on a fast-break layup to push the margin to double figures (73-63) with 1:57 left.  Jones finished with seven points and six assists.  A three-pointer by Owens cut the deficit to six at 79-73 with 19 ticks left, but FMU guard Houston Power sealed the win with a pair of free throws one second later.

Francis Marion connected on 20 of 29 field goal attempts (69 percent) over the final 20 minutes to rally.  FMU used a 52-39 rebounding advantage and a field-goal percentage of 50.8 percent for the game to offset a poor night at the free throw line (19 of 36) and 28 turnovers.

11-29-07 7:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 81, MORRIS COLLEGE 73

MORRIS COLLEGE (1-8)
Thomas, Nathaniel 10-24 0-1 21; Tucker, Reshrond 6-10 4-6 16; Owens,
Christopher 5-18 2-4 15; Nesmith, Kenneth 4-11 0-0 8; James, Randall 2-10
0-0 6; Beaufort, Justin 1-2 1-3 3; Kahee, Dominic 1-2 0-0 2; Adams, Stanford
0-1 1-2 1; McKinney, Jonquin 0-1 1-2 1; Scott III, Willie 0-0 0-0 0;
Drummond, Ricky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-79 9-18 73.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (4-1)
Smith, Sam 5-9 8-12 18; Carter, Ziyadah 4-9 2-2 12; Turner, David 5-5 0-2
10; Clark, Kevin 2-4 6-7 10; Stiglbauer, Carter 4-6 0-1 8; Jones, Crayton
3-4 1-7 7; Power, Houston 2-10 2-4 6; Burton, Rodrick 3-4 0-1 6; Baker,
Cortne' 1-3 0-0 2; Morley, Nate 1-4 0-0 2; Hampton, Andy 0-1 0-0 0;
Peterson, Larnelle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 19-36 81.
Halftime:  Morris College 32  Francis Marion University  27.
3-point goals-Morris College 6-31 (Owens, Christopher 3-14; James, Randall
2-10; Thomas, Nathaniel 1-5; McKinney, Jonquin 0-1; Tucker, Reshrond 0-1),
Francis Marion University 2-12 (Carter, Ziyadah 2-4; Power, Houston 0-3;
Burton, Rodrick 0-1; Baker, Cortne' 0-1; Morley, Nate 0-3). Fouled
out--Morris College-None, Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds-Morris
College 39 (Nesmith, Kenneth 8), Francis Marion University 52 (Clark, Kevin
7; Smith, Sam 7). Assists-Morris College 20 (McKinney, Jonquin 8), Francis
Marion University 24 (Baker, Cortne' 6; Jones, Crayton 6). Total
fouls-Morris College 27, Francis Marion University 21. A-1611
Charges drawn: Tucker, Nesmith 2, Clark