PEMBROKE, NC – Junior guard Houston Power scored a career-high equaling 26 points to lead Francis Marion University to its 500th all-time win, a 77-67 road victory at UNC Pembroke, Wednesday night in Peach Belt Conference men’s action.

The milestone win comes in a place where the Patriots struggled to win for the first 27 of the program’s 38 seasons.  FMU snaps a two-game skid this year and improves to 8-4 overall and 2-3 in the PBC.  FMU’s first ever win was a 76-68 victory over the UNC Wilmington freshmen squad on Dec. 7, 1970, in the Southside High School gymnasium.

Houston also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and handed out four assists   He hit 8-of-10 field goal attempts, including 5of-6 from beyond the three-point arc, and all five of his free throw attempts. 

FMU sophomore guard Michael Laney added a career-high 15 points in his first start and Ziyadah Carter scored 11 points off the Patriot bench.  Laney was 8-of-8 at the stripe as FMU hit 23 of 28 charity tosses.

Guard Jarrell Hunter paced UNCP (6-7, 1-4) with 20 points, while Cortez Brown tallied 12 and Jonathan Hart 11.

UNCP jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead, holding FMU to one basket over the opening six minutes.  However, the Patriots then outscored the Braves 28-14 over the final 13:35 of the first stanza to grab a 30-24 halftime lead.

A dunk by Hart brought UNCP to within 32-30 early in the second half, but FMU gradually built a 51-37 advantage.  The spurt was capped by a four-point play by Houston.  UNCP trimmed the margin to 55-47, but a Laney three-pointer beat an expiring shot clock, Carter threw down an alley-oop dunk, and Laney hit two free throws to give FMU a 62-47 lead.

FMU shot 64.7 percent from the field for the game, including a sizzling second-half performance.  The Patriots hit 14 of 20 shots in the final half, including 7-of-10 three-point shots.

Interestingly, because of their sharp shooting the Patriots grabbed only one offensive rebound and garnered no second-chance points.

“It’s nice to be a part of a milestone,” FMU head coach Gary Edwards said of the team’s 500th win.

Despite only being in his second years as head coach, Edwards recognized the significance of the win. “The win was indicative of the hard work of past coaches and players. We want to get the next 500 wins a little quicker.”

Veteran Patriot athletic trainer Spyder Webb agreed with the coach. “It’s taken us a long time to get to 500 and hopefully we can get the next 500 a heck of a lot quicker,” Webb said.   Because he has been around to see many of FMU’s wins (and losses) throughout the years, the win was of great significance to him. “It was a signature event for me. I was pretty jacked up about it.”

Francis Marion plays at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Ga., on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.  The game will be broadcasted on the radio at 100.1 FM The Fan.  The Patriots return home next Wednesday to face Augusta State University on the team’s first-ever White-Out Night.