FLORENCE, S.C. – Despite seeing its streak of consecutive made free throws end at 23, Francis Marion University used a clutch performance at the charity stripe in the final half to claim a 69-62 Peach Belt Conference win over Georgia Southwestern State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 5) in men’s basketball action.
The Patriots improve to 7-2 overall and even their PBC mark at 1-1, while picking up the 499th victory in the program’s 38-year history.
Junior forward Sam Smith led Francis Marion with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while junior center Kevin Clark added 11 points and six rebounds and junior guard Houston Power tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Junior 5-11 guard Anthony Sargent paced Georgia Southwestern (4-6, 1-2) with 27 points. He hit on 8-of-18 shots from the floor and 8-of-9 free throws in only 25 minutes of action.
Francis Marion, which made all 11 of its free throw attempts in its next-to-last game against Florida Christian College and 12-of-12 attempts last Wednesday against Erskine College, missed it opening attempt against the Hurricanes. However, the Patriots hit 12-of-14 attempts in the second stanza as FMU broke away from a 32-32 halftime deadlock.
After Sargent opened the second half with a basket, Francis Marion scored eight straight points to take 40-34 lead. Two free throws by Sargent with 10:31 remaining knotted the score at 48-48, but FMU responded with an 8-1 spurt to gain the lead for good.
A layup by Aaron Wyatt with 5:26 left brought the Hurricanes to within 58-55, but Power scored consecutive baskets and Clark added two charity tosses to push the Francis Marion advantage to 64-55.
Francis Marion used a 46-31 rebounding advantage to outscore Georgia Southwestern 20-7 on second-chance points.
FMU gets no rest as the Patriots play host to Columbus State University on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Hurricanes return home to host Armstrong Atlantic State University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 69, GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN STATE U. 62
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN STATE U. (4-6 , 1-2 PBC)
Sargent, Anthony 8-18 8-9 27; Jackson, Frederick 3-8 2-2 8; Owsley, Travis
3-8 1-4 7; Wyatt, Aaron 2-11 1-6 6; Roderick, Ric 2-3 0-0 6; Russell, Rick
2-8 2-2 6; Hunt, Dannie 1-1 0-0 2; Ward, Corey 0-0 0-0 0; Carter, Michael
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 14-23 62.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (7-2 , 1-1 PBC)
Smith, Sam 7-10 1-1 15; Clark, Kevin 2-5 7-8 11; Power, Houston 4-9 2-6 10;
Turner, David 3-5 2-2 8; Boyd, Simel 3-6 1-2 7; Laney, Michael 1-3 2-2 5;
Jones, Crayton 1-4 3-4 5; Carter, Ziyadah 2-7 0-0 5; Stiglbauer, Carter 1-4
0-0 2; Baker, Cortne' 0-2 1-1 1; Burton, Rodrick 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-56
19-26 69.
Halftime: Francis Marion 32 Georgia Southwestern State 32.
3-point goals-Georgia Southwestern State U. 6-21 (Sargent, Anthony 3-10;
Roderick, Ric 2-3; Wyatt, Aaron 1-6; Russell, Rick 0-2), Francis Marion
University 2-17 (Carter, Ziyadah 1-5; Laney, Michael 1-2; Power, Houston
0-3; Turner, David 0-1; Boyd, Simel 0-1; Stiglbauer, Carter 0-2; Baker,
Cortne' 0-1; Clark, Kevin 0-1; Smith, Sam 0-1). Fouled out--Georgia
Southwestern State U.-None, Francis Marion University-Jones, Crayton.
Rebounds-Georgia Southwestern State U. 31 (Russell, Rick 6; Jackson,
Frederick 6), Francis Marion University 46 (Power, Houston 7).
Assists-Georgia Southwestern State U. 10 (Owsley, Travis 4), Francis Marion
University 15 (Power, Houston 4). Total fouls-Georgia Southwestern State U.
22, Francis Marion University 23. A-400
Men's Sports
