FLORENCE, SC - Senior swingman Kaylan Anderson scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures as Francis Marion University beat USC Aiken 83-73, Wednesday night (Dec. 2) in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both squads.

Francis Marion (7-1, 1-0) snapped a four-game losing skid to the Pacers.  Following Anderson was junior 6-7 center David Turner with 13 points (on 5-of-5 shooting), coming off the Patriot bench; junior Simel Boyd with 12 points, and 6-9 sophomore center Andrew Smith with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots.  Junior point guard Mike Candelaria made his first start for FMU and tallied 10 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, while committing only three turnovers in 32 minutes.

Senior forward Seth Leonard led USCA (2-3, 0-1) with 19 points and five rebounds, while both Casey McMasters and Sterling Council added 10 points apiece.

USCA led through much of the early going, but FMU broke a 19-19 deadlock with an 8-0 spurt that included a pair of baskets by Anderson.  Francis Marion led 39-27 at halftime.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Patriots connected on 16-of-28 shots (57.1 percent), while holding the Pacers to 38.9 percent shooting.   

After intermission, the Pacers scored four straight points to trim the margin to 39-31, but FMU responded with a 7-0 run to go up 46-31.  The Patriots would gradually expand that lead to 19 points (73-54) following a jumper by Boyd with 4:34 left.

A furious 14-2 rally by the Pacers cut the Patriot lead to 75-68 with 58 seconds remaining.  However FMU made 6-of-8 free throws - with Candelaria hitting 5-of-6 - over the final minute to hold on for the victory.

Francis Marion outrebounded the Pacers 45-34 and held a 50-28 advantage in points-in-the-paint.

Francis Marion will close out its 2009 portion of the schedule on Saturday night (7 p.m.) when the Patriots entertain The Apprentice School.  USCA plays host to Benedict College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

12-2-09 7:50 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 83, USC AIKEN 73
USC AIKEN (2-3 , 0-1 PBC)
Leonard, Seth 5-10 9-10 19; McMasters, Casey 4-7 0-0 10; Council, Sterling
4-9 2-2 10; Brown, Mark 2-7 3-6 8; Dongo, Jores 1-2 6-6 8; Faison, Byron
3-11 0-0 7; Nelson, Re'mon 3-9 0-0 7; Technow, Michael 2-6 0-0 4; Flowers,
Rashad 0-2 0-2 0; Gadomski, Jakub 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 20-26 73.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (7-1 , 1-0 PBC)
Anderson, Kaylan 8-15 2-2 18; Turner, David 5-5 2-2 13; Boyd, Simel 5-12 2-3
12; Smith, Andrew 5-9 0-1 10; Candelaria, Mike 2-8 5-6 10; Mains, Herman 4-7
1-2 9; Robinson, Kendrick 3-7 1-1 7; Petreikis, Mindaugas 1-1 1-2 3;
Julious, Bryant 0-1 1-2 1; Gullatte, Edward 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-66 15-21 83.
Halftime: Francis Marion 39 USC Aiken 27
3-point goals--USC Aiken 5-19 (McMasters, Casey 2-3; Brown, Mark 1-4;
Nelson, Re'mon 1-5; Faison, Byron 1-5; Council, Sterling 0-1; Leonard, Seth
0-1), Francis Marion University 2-16 (Turner, David 1-1; Candelaria, Mike
1-7; Robinson, Kendrick 0-3; Julious, Bryant 0-1; Boyd, Simel 0-2; Anderson,
Kaylan 0-2). Fouled out--USC Aiken-None, Francis Marion University-Smith,
Andrew. Rebounds--USC Aiken 34 (Leonard, Seth 5), Francis Marion University
45 (Smith, Andrew 7). Assists--USC Aiken 11 (Nelson, Re'mon 4), Francis
Marion University 24 (Candelaria, Mike 9). Total fouls--USC Aiken 17,
Francis Marion University 20. Technical fouls--USC Aiken-None, Francis
Marion University-None. A-1100