COLUMBUS, GA -- Forward Ransom Antoine scored 21 points and Columbus State University drained 19 three-pointers en route to a 91-78 Peach Belt Conference win over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14) in the Lumpkin Center.
Francis Marion (7-6, 2-4) placed four players in double figures, led by senior swingman George Walker's career-high 21. Point guard Michael Jenkins added 16, as did junior center Raymond Dorsey. Vony Rivers tallied 11. Dorsey led the Patriots in rebounding with eight. FMU starters accounted for 65 of the team's 78 points.
CSU outscored the Patriots 18-8 to start the game and appeared in control early. Francis Marion calmly chipped away however, and used a 17-10 run to pull within 30-27 with 8:05 to play in the half. Artis Lee capped the run with a three-pointer for the Patriots. CSU answered with an 18-4 spurt to regain control of the game. Quay Holloway's trey with 1:35 left gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the game at that point, 48-32. CSU led 50-38 at halftime.
The Cougars stretched their lead to as many as 18 points in the opening minutes of the second half, but hit a scoring drought and allowed the Patriots to charge back into the game. Trailing 58-40 with 18:42 left, FMU outscored CSU 27-10 over the next nine minutes and trailed by just one point 68-67 with 9:40 to go after a three-pointer by Walker.
CSU finally awoke and rattled off 10 straight points to stretch its lead back to double digits. Antoine's dunk and free-throw on a three-point play put the Cougars up 78-67 with 6:32 remaining. The Patriots would get the margin below 10 points just one more time the rest of the way and a three-pointer by CSU's Corris Portis to beat the shot clock with one second left capped the scoring for the day.
After going seven of 13 from three-point range in the first half, FMU went just three of 16 in the final stanza to finish at 35 percent overall. The Patriots were 31 of 70 from the floor overall for 44 percent. The 10 treys were a season-high for FMU.
CSU continued its balanced scoring as five players scored in double figures. Following Antoine was Portis with 18 points - all on 6-10 shooting from long range -while Ron Robinson also scored 18. Justin Wilson went 4-5 from three-point range and finished with 14 points, while Will Davis added 11 points.
The Cougars fell three short of the school record for long balls set in a 1991 game against Troy when the Cougars hit 22 of the shots in a 162-130 loss. In all, CSU got three-pointers from seven different players in the game. The Cougars shot 55 percent overall in the second half and 53 percent for the game, including 50 percent (19-38) from three-point range. CSU led in rebounding 37-33.
Francis Marion plays host to Augusta State University, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
01-14-06 2:00 PM at Columbus, GA...Lumpkin Center
COLUMBUS STATE 91, FRANCIS MARION 78
FRANCIS MARION ( 7-6, 2-4 PBC)
Walker, George 8-15 3-5 21; Dorsey, Raymond 8-14 0-0 16; Jenkins, Michael
5-13 2-2 16; Rivers, Vony 4-11 0-0 11; Charles, Reinaldo 3-9 0-0 6; Lee,
Artis 2-2 0-0 5; Burton, Rodrick 1-2 0-0 2; Carter, Michael 0-4 1-2 1;
Coakley, Akeene 0-0 0-0 0; Braxton, Paul 0-0 0-0 0; Hamilton, Marchello 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 31-70 6-9 78.
COLUMBUS STATE (11-4, 5-1 PBC)
Antoine, Ransom 7-14 6-9 21; Robinson, Ron 7-14 0-0 18; Portis, Corris 6-10
0-0 18; Wilson, Justin 5-8 0-1 14; Davis, Will 4-7 2-2 11; Holloway, Quay
2-6 0-0 6; Tarver, Jeff 1-2 0-0 3; Neal, Battle 0-0 0-0 0; Patterson, Nathan
0-0 0-0 0; Miller, Sean 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-61 8-12 91.
Halftime-Columbus State 50 Francis Marion 38.
3-point goals-Francis Marion 10-29 (Jenkins, Michael 4-10; Rivers, Vony 3-8;
Walker, George 2-4; Lee, Artis 1-1; Carter, Michael 0-1; Charles, Reinaldo
0-5), Columbus State 19-38 (Portis, Corris 6-10; Wilson, Justin 4-5;
Robinson, Ron 4-11; Holloway, Quay 2-4; Tarver, Jeff 1-2; Davis, Will 1-3;
Antoine, Ransom 1-3). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Columbus State-None.
Rebounds-Francis Marion 33 (Dorsey, Raymond 8), Columbus State 37 (Antoine,
Ransom 7). Assists-Francis Marion 13 (Dorsey, Raymond 3; Walker, George 3),
Columbus State 21 (Robinson, Ron 6). Total fouls-Francis Marion 15, Columbus
State 10. A-512
