MARS HILL, N.C. – Vony Rivers and Rodrick Burton each scored 13 points to lead Francis marion University to a 71-52 non-conference win over Mars Hill College, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17) in Stanford Area.

FMU won its third straight game to improve to 6-3, while Mars Hill drops to 5-5.

For Burton, a sophomore from Taylors, S.C., it was his first game scoring in double figures.  Junior center Raymond Dorsey added 12 points for the Patriots, who were playing without the services of starting swing player and second leading scorer George Walker.  Walker remained in Florence to receive his undergraduate degree at the university's December commencement exercises.

FMU senior point guard Michael Jenkins hit a three-pointer on the Patriots' first possession of the game and Francis Marion never trailed again.  Mars Hill struggled shooting the ball early in the first half, while FMU took a 13-point lead (16-3) with 14:56 left in the first frame after Dorsey hit a layup.  FMU started the game five-of-five from the field with four of those shots coming from behind the three-point arc.

Reinaldo Charles, in his first game of the year for the Patriots, gave FMU its biggest first-half lead at 29-9 with 6:01 left in the opening period when he hit one of two free throws.  Mars Hill fought back and went on a 17-7 run to close out the first stanza and trim the Patriots' lead to 10 points (36-26) at intermission.

FMU came out of the locker room and scored 12 unanswered points to take a 22-point advantage with 15:19 left after Marchello Hamilton hit the second of two foul shots.  Mars Hill cut the deficit to 17 points on two occasions, but that was as close as the Lions would get.  FMU hit 52% (13-25) of their shots in the final stanza to claim the 19-point victory.

FMU scored 28 points in the paint, 21 points off Lion miscues and received 26 points off their bench.  Rivers led the Patriots in rebounding with seven.  FMU hit 47.4 percent (27-57) of its field goal attempts in the contest and won the rebounding battle 40-31.

Marques Maxwell led Mars Hill with 17 points, while Walt Baxley, the South Atlantic Conference's lead scorer at 26.6 points per game, was held to just eight points.

Francis Marion will now take a break for the holidays before resuming its season at Armstrong Atlantic State University on January 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Newspaper Box Score
Francis Marion vs Mars Hill College
12/17/05 2 p.m. at Mars Hill, NC (Stanford Arena)
At Mars Hill, NC (Stanford Arena)
FRANCIS MARION 71, MARS HILL COLLEGE 52

FRANCIS MARION ((6-3))
Burton, Rodrick 4-5 4-4 13; Rivers, Vony 5-12 1-3 13; Dorsey, Raymond 5-7 1-1 12; Jenkins, Michael 3-6 1-2 9; Carter, Michael 4-8 0-2 8; Peterson, Larnelle 3-5 0-0 7; Charles, Reinaldo 1-2 1-2 4; Hamilton, Marchello 1-5 1-3 3; Coakley, Akeene 1-5 0-0 2; Lilliston, Courtney 0-1 0-0 0; Lee, Artis 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 27-57 9-19 71.

MARS HILL COLLEGE ((5-5))
Maxwell, Marques 6-18 2-4 17; Baxley, Walt 3-12 1-2 8; McDowell, Elliott 2-5 3-3 7; Hamilton, Mark 1-2 4-6 6; Matus, Christian 2-3 0-2 6; Blake, Tony 1-1 0-0 2; McIver, Jamison 1-1 0-1 2; Siniard, Cody 1-1 0-1 2; Miller, Andy 1-2 0-0 2; Hippolyte, James 0-1 0-0 0; Aline, Chris 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 10-19 52.

Francis Marion................   36   35  -   71
Mars Hill College.............   26   26  -   52

3-point goals-Francis Marion 8-23 (Rivers, Vony 2-6; Jenkins, Michael 2-5; Burton, Rodrick 1-1; Dorsey, Raymond 1-1; Peterson, Larnelle 1-3; Charles, Reinaldo 1-1; Lee, Artis 0-1; Coakley, Akeene 0-2; Carter, Michael 0-3), Mars Hill College 6-21 (Maxwell, Marques 3-7; Matus, Christian 2-3; Baxley, Walt 1-7; Miller, Andy 0-1; Aline, Chris 0-1; McDowell, Elliott 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Mars Hill College-None. Rebounds-Francis Marion 40 (Rivers, Vony 7), Mars Hill College 31 (Hamilton, Mark 5). Assists-Francis Marion 18 (Jenkins, Michael 6), Mars Hill College 6 (Baxley, Walt 3). Total fouls-Francis Marion 18, Mars Hill College 13. A-250