FLORENCE, S.C. – Trying to rally from a late deficit, Francis Marion University committed four turnovers in the final 1:42 as the Patriots fell to visiting Augusta State University 60-56, Wednesday evening (Jan. 18) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

 

ASU (7-7, 3-4) was led by freshman guard Matt Scott with 16 points, while senior Jason Mills tallied 11 points and sophomore forward Tyrekus Bowman added 10 points and eight rebounds.

 

Francis Marion (7-7, 2-5), which has lost four of its last five contests, was paced by senior swingman George Walker with 14 points and seven rebounds. Senior Vony Rivers added 12 points, before leaving the game with an injury early in the second half.

 

Augusta State never trailed in the opening half, claiming a 33-24 lead at intermission behind 13 points from Scott. A pair of Mills’ free throws early in the second stanza pushed the margin to 35-25. Francis Marion quickly rallied with a 15-4 run, taking its first lead of the contest at 40-39 on a three-pointer by senior Michael Carter with 11:05 left.

 

In the final 11 minutes, neither team led by more then three points until Scott hit a three-pointer from the right corner to put the Jaguars up 54-50. FMU senior Reinaldo Charles answered with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 54-53, but ASU hit three of four free throws in one trip down the floor to push the margin back to four (57-53). Following two Francis Marion turnovers and two missed free throws by the Patriots, Mills drained two attempts from the stripe to give ASU a 59-53 lead.

 

Patriot senior Artis Lee connected on a three-pointer with 38 ticks left to pull FMU to within 59-56. ASU then turned the ball back over to FMU, but Lee missed a layup, and then following two missed ASU free throws, Francis Marion committed a costly turnover. However, ASU turned the ball back over to FMU, allowing Michael Jenkins to attempt a potential game-tying trey, but it was no good. Augusta State sophomore Larry Diamond converted one of two free throws with five seconds left to account for the final four-point margin.

 

The two squads combined for 41 turnovers: 21 for FMU and 20 for ASU. The Patriots held a 39-24 rebounding advantage and a 13-3 lead in second-chance points, but FMU made only nine of 18 free throws and shot just 33.9 percent from the field. ASU became only the 18th team in the past 98 games to shoot above 46 percent against the Patriots. The Jaguars connected on 18 of 39 attempts (46.2%), including nine of 21 three-point attempts.

Francis Marion plays at Clayton State University, Saturday at 4 p.m., while Augusta State entertains USC Upstate, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.