FLORENCE, S.C. – The Francis Marion University men's and women's basketball teams successfully opened their home seasons with convincing wins on the opening night of the Zaxby's Patriot Clazzic in Florence.

Senior Danielle Moore tallied 19 points to lead four Patriots in double figures as the FMU women (1-1) beat Coker College 85-55.  Francis Marion broke a 2-2 tie with an 8-0 run and never trailed.  The Patriots led 49-23 at halftime.

Following Moore, sophomore 6-4 center Shavone Mack scored a career-high 14 points on seven of nine shooting, while sophomore center Shonelle Downer notched 10 points.   Sophomore point guard Brittany Young added 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Forward Rachael Kolbeck led the Lady Cobras (0-1) with 20 and eight rebounds before fouling out.

The Francis Marion men (1-1) placed five players in double digits and used a suffocating first-half defensive effort to claim a 79-66 victory over Coker. The Patriots outscored Coker 19-1 over the final 10 minutes of the first half to lead 32-13 at intermission.  Coker cut the margin to seven points on several occasions in the final stanza, but a 7-0 FMU spurt midway through the half helped hold off the Cobras.

For the second consecutive game, Francis Marion senior swingman George Walker upped his career high, this time to 19 points.  Seniors Vony River and Michael Jenkins each added 13 points.  Jenkins equaled the fourth-best free throw performance by a Patriot ever, as he drained all 10 of his charity tosses.  Senior forward Michael Carter and freshman forward Akeene Coakley each set career highs with 12 points.

Guard Johnny Jackson paced Coker (0-1) with 34 points, 25 of which came in the second half.  Forward Abram Ludd added 17 points.

In Friday's other contests, the UNC Pembroke women (1-0) defeated Fayetteville State University (0-1) 73-64 behind a balanced scoring attack, and the Anderson College men (1-1) beat Fayetteville State (1-1) 81-71 as the Trojans shot 58 percent from the field, including an 11 of 21 night from beyond the three-point arc.

On Saturday, UNCP will play Coker in a women's game at 2 p.m., Fayetteville State will meet Coker in a men's contest at 4 p.m., the Francis Marion and FSU women will meet at 6 p.m., and the Patriot men will play Anderson at 8 p.m.
 
At Florence, SC (Smith University Center) FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 85, COKER COLLEGE 55
 
COKER COLLEGE (0-1)
Kolbeck, Rachael 8-17 3-6 20; Elliot, India 5-14 0-2 11; White, Ashley 3-12 3-4 9; Nelson, Tara 3-11 1-4 8; Ervin, Tyesha 3-9 0-0 6; Spain, Temeca 0-4 1-4 1; Smallwood, Tiara 0-0 0-0 0; Brooks, Ashley 0-0 0-1 0; Larsen, Lauren 0-0 0-0 0; Dakins, Justina 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-67 8-21 55.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (1-1)
Moore, Danielle 6-8 7-10 19; Mack, Shavone 7-9 0-0 14; Downer, Shonelle 3-4 4-4 10; Young, Brittany 5-10 0-3 10; Guilliams, Renee 4-9 0-0 9; Singletary, Creshenda 4-8 0-0 8; Kiefer, Katie 1-6 4-4 6; Marsh, Kirby 2-4 0-1 5; Goff, Vanessa 2-6 0-1 4; Preal, Shaketa 0-3 0-0 0; Gandy-Miller, Sienna 0-1 0-0 0; Etheredge, Courtenay 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-69 15-23 85.
 
Halftime: Francis Marion 49 Coker 23. 3-point goals-Coker 3-7 (Nelson, Tara 1-3;  Elliot, India 1-2; Kolbeck, Rachael 1-2), Francis Marion 2-13 (Marsh, Kirby 1-2; Guilliams, Renee 1-5; Young, Brittany 0-1; Singletary,Creshenda 0-2; Kiefer, Katie 0-2; Etheredge, Courtenay 0-1). Fouled out--Kolbeck. Rebounds-Coker 40 (Nelson, Tara 8; Kolbeck, Rachael 8; Spain, Temeca 8), Francis Marion 49 (Singletary, Creshenda 10). Assists-Coker College 18 (Elliot, India 6), Francis Marion 19 (Marsh, Kirby 5). Total fouls-Coker 18, Francis Marion 20. A-430
 
At Florence, SC (Smith University Center) FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 79, COKER COLLEGE 66
 
COKER COLLEGE (0-1)
Jackson, Johnny 11-22 4-6 34; Ludd, Abram 6-7 5-9 17; Smyth, Tim 3-4 0-0 6; Kearney, Darian 1-3 3-6 5; Terrell, Blake 1-5 0-0 2; Boulindas, George 0-1 1-2 1; Blythe, Jason 0-2 1-4 1; Lacayo, Sebastien 0-0 0-0 0; Hukill, Taylor 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 14-27 66.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (1-1)
Walker, George 5-9 8-10 19; Jenkins, Michael 1-7 10-10 13; Rivers, Vony 5-10 2-4 13; Coakley, Akeene 5-9 0-0 12; Carter, Michael 2-5 7-8 12; Lee, Artis 3-5 1-2 9; Dorsey, Raymond 0-5 1-4 1; Burton, Rodrick 0-0 0-0 0; Lilliston, Courtney 0-0 0-2 0; Hamilton, Marchello 0-7 0-0 0; Peterson, Larnelle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 29-40 79.

Halftime: Francis Marion 32 Coker College 13. 3-point goals-Coker 8-22 (Jackson, Johnny 8-15; Terrell, Blake 0-4; Hukill, Taylor 0-3), Francis Marion 8-25 (Lee, Artis 2-4; Coakley, Akeene 2-4; Carter, Michael 1-3; Rivers, Vony 1-3; Walker, George 1-4; Jenkins, Michael 1-5; Peterson, Larnelle 0-1; Dorsey, Raymond 0-1). Fouled out--Ludd, Jenkins.  Rebounds-Coker 39 (Kearney, Darian 10), Francis Marion 35 (Carter, Michael 7).  Assists-Coker 19 (Boulindas, George 8), Francis Marion 11 (Rivers, Vony 4).  Total fouls-Coker 29, Francis Marion 21. A-770