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Patriots Roll Past Pacers in Second Half
FLORENCE, S.C. – Senior forward Reinaldo Charles scored a season-high 15 points and Francis Marion University closed the game on a 26-8 run to take a 67-53 Peach Belt Conference win over visiting USC Aiken, Wednesday night (Jan. 11) in men's action.
 
Francis Marion snaps a two-slide and ups its overall record to 7-5 and its conference mark to 2-3. The Pacers drop their eighth straight contest to fall to 2-9 and 0-5.
 
Senior swingman Vony Rivers followed Charles with 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while seniors George Walker and Michael Jenkins each chipped in 10 points.
 
Sophomore guard Josh Poston was the lone Pacer in double figures with 14 points, including a four-of-seven performance from beyond the three-point arc.
 
USCA hit seven of its first 10 field goal attempts and led 21-12 with 9:27 left in the opening half.   FMU used a 13-4 spurt to knot the score at 25-25 following two free throws by Charles. However, the Pacers left the floor at halftime owning a 31-27 advantage.
 
The Pacers continued to hold a small lead in the second stanza, including a 45-41 lead with 11:51 remaining. That is when Francis Marion began its 26-8 game-ending run.
 
A 7-0 spurt quickly erased the four-point USCA margin and put FMU ahead to stay at 48-45. Walker scored four of the seven points. USCA trailed only 54-49 with five minutes left, when the Patriots scored ten consecutive points, the first eight all by Charles. Following a USCA free throw by Chris Brown, Jenkins converted a three-point play to give FMU a 67-50 lead in the final minute.
 
Francis Marion shot 55.2 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, while holding USCA to 27.3 percent. The Patriots converted 25 USCA miscues into 22 points, and FMU held a 38-10 advantage in points in the paint.
 
FMU will play at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga., Saturday at 4 p.m. USCA will return home to host USC Upstate, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
 
 
1-11-06 7:45 pm
At Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 67, USC AIKEN 53
 
USC AIKEN (2-9 , 0-5 PBC) Poston, Josh 5-8 0-0 14; Coates, Arnold
4-12 1-1 9; Burr, Kenny 3-6 0-0 9; Varga, Lukas 1-1 1-3 4; DePaula,
Tiago 1-1 2-4 4; Oates, Theo 0-0 4-4 4; Brown, Chris 1-4 2-4 4; Glover,
Richard 1-2 0-2 3; Oguchi, Kingsley 0-3 1-3 1; Frater, Scotty 0-1 1-2 1;
Blocker, Richard 0-4 0-1 0; Sampson, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42
12-24 53.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (7-5 , 2-3 PBC) Charles, Reinaldo 4-6
5-5 15; Rivers, Vony 7-16 0-2 14; Jenkins, Michael 4-7 1-1 10; Walker,
George 3-7 2-4 10; Dorsey, Raymond 3-7 1-3 7; Coakley, Akeene 2-5
0-0 4; Hamilton, Marchello 2-3 0-1 4; Lee, Artis 1-3 0-0 3; Carter,
Michael 0-2 0-0 0; Braxton, Paul 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 26-56 9-17 67.
Halftime-USC Aiken 31 Francis Marion 27.
3-point goals-USC Aiken 9-22 (Poston 4-7; Burr 3-6; Varga 1-1; Glover 1-2;
Brown 0-1; Oguchi 0-1; Blocker 0-4), Francis Marion 6-14 (Walker 2-2;
Charles 2-4; Jenkins 1-3; Lee 1-2; Rivers 0-3). Fouled out--None. Rebounds-
USC Aiken 29 (Coates 6), Francis Marion 34 (Dorsey 7). Assists-USC
Aiken 11 (Oguchi 4), Francis Marion 14 (Rivers 6). Total fouls-USC Aiken 
22, Francis Marion 20. A-900
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