FLORENCE, S.C. – Senior guard Jarred Jackson connected on five consecutive three-point attempts as Lander University jumped to a quick 21-point lead and the Bearcats coasted to a 78-56 Peach Belt Conference victory over Francis Marion University, Tuesday night (Jan. 2) in men’s college basketball action.
Jackson tallied 22 points to pace Lander (6-5, 1-0), with 16 of his points coming in the opening 13 minutes. Dane Sparrow added 17 points, while Emanuel Hodrea and Curtis Milner each registered 14 points. Lander hit 9-of-25 shots from beyond the three-point arc and shot 50 percent from floor as a whole.
Senior forward Raymond Dorsey led Francis Marion (3-7, 0-1) with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. Juniors Rodrick Burton and Larnelle Peterson each tallied nine points.
Led by Jackson, Lander scored the game’s opening eight points and never trailed, A trey by Jackson with 8:34 left in the stanza gave the Bearcats a commanding 30-9 advantage. The margin was 44-21 at intermission following a tip-in by Sparrow at the halftime horn.
A layup by Milner with 14:22 left gave Lander a 24-point margin at 52-28. Francis Marion was never able to cut the margin under 15 points in the final half, and another layup by Milner produced Lander’s largest margin of the contest at 78-53 with 1:48 left.
Lander shot 57.7 percent from the field in the decisive first half, while FMU shot only 8-of-24 in the opening 20 minutes. The Bearcats also converted 18 Patriot turnovers into 22 points.
Francis Marion will travel to the Atlanta area this Saturday to face second-ranked Clayton State University in a 4 p.m. contest. Lander plays host to Georgia College & State University on Saturday at 2 p.m.
At Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
LANDER UNIVERSITY 78, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 56
LANDER UNIVERSITY (6-5 , 1-0 PBC)
Jackson, Jarred 7-14 3-5 22; Sparrow, Dane 5-11 4-5 17; Hodrea, Emanuel 6-8
1-3 14; Milner, Curtis 4-4 6-6 14; Griffin, Michael 2-6 1-2 5; Smith,
Scottie 2-5 0-0 4; Harris, Brenton 1-2 0-0 2; Johnson, Darius 0-3 0-0 0;
Evans, Zach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 15-21 78.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (3-7 , 0-1 PBC)
Dorsey, Raymond 5-6 0-0 10; Peterson, Larnelle 3-6 2-2 9; Burton, Rodrick
3-7 2-2 9; Bishop, Dominic 3-14 0-0 8; Baker, Cortne' 2-7 2-4 7; Ashford,
Kevin 2-4 3-6 7; Coakley, Akeene 2-5 0-0 5; Smith, Devon 0-2 1-2 1;
Borojevich, Greg 0-1 0-0 0; Collins, Charles 0-0 0-0 0; Hall, Daniel 0-1 0-0
0; Morley, Nate 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 10-16 56.
Halftime: Lander University 44 Francis Marion University 21.
3-point goals-Lander University 9-25 (Jackson, Jarred 5-10; Sparrow, Dane
3-8; Hodrea, Emanuel 1-3; Johnson, Darius 0-1; Griffin, Michael 0-2; Evans,
Zach 0-1), Francis Marion University 6-22 (Bishop, Dominic 2-5; Burton,
Rodrick 1-3; Coakley, Akeene 1-4; Peterson, Larnelle 1-2; Baker, Cortne'
1-4; Hall, Daniel 0-1; Morley, Nate 0-2; Smith, Devon 0-1). Fouled
out--Lander University-None, Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds-Lander
University 40 (Griffin, Michael 8), Francis Marion University 30 (Ashford,
Kevin 8). Assists-Lander University 19 (Griffin, Michael 7), Francis Marion
University 12 (Baker, Cortne' 3). Total fouls-Lander University 13, Francis
Marion University 19. A-350
