AIKEN, SC - Senior Kaylan Anderson scored 24 points to lead Francis Marion University to a come-from-behind 77-71 overtime win at USC Aiken, Wednesday night (Jan. 13) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

FMU ups its overall record to 12-2 and takes over sole possession of second place in the PBC's East Division with a 4-1 mark.

Anderson connected on 8-of-14 field goal attempts and was a perfect 7-of-7 at the foul line.  Junior forward Simel Boyd tallied 13 points and eight rebounds, while 6-9 sophomore center Andrew Smith added 10 points and six rebounds.

Smith forced overtime with a game-tying layup with 42 seconds left in regulation.  The Pacers had two shots to win the game in regulation but missed on both.

Guards Mark Brown and Byron Faison led USCA (9-4, 4-2) with 18 and 14 points respectively.

Francis Marion scored the game's opening five points only to see the Pacers race to a 32-22 advantage.  USCA held a 34-29 lead at halftime.

The Pacer lead would again grow to double digits at 56-45 with 9:51 left.  The Patriots rallied to tie the game at 64-64 on two free throws by Anderson with 2:24 on the clock.  A jump shot by Faison gave USCA a 66-64 lead, but Smith's basket pushed the game into overtime.

With the score knotted at 68-68 in the extra session, Bryant Julious hit a three-pointer and Smith followed with another inside hoop to give Francis Marion a 73-68 lead.  After a Pacer three-pointer trimmed the margin to 73-71, Anderson scored on a layup with 17 ticks left and 10 seconds later Kendrick Robinson clinched the win with two free throws.

The Patriots held a 26-12 advantage in points-off-turnovers and a 42-22 lead in points-in-the-paint.

FMU will host a pair of PBC opponents this weekend: Georgia Southwestern State University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Columbus State University on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

1-13-10 8:00 PM at Aiken, SC (Convocation Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 77, USC AIKEN 71
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (12-2, 4-1 PBC)
Anderson, Kaylan 8-14 7-7 24; Boyd, Simel 6-13 0-2 13; Smith, Andrew 4-10
2-4 10; Robinson, Kendrick 3-7 2-2 9; Mains, Herman 3-7 1-1 7; Candelaria,
Mike 2-4 0-0 6; Julious, Bryant 2-4 0-0 5; Petreikis, Mindaugas 1-2 0-0 2;
Gullatte, Edward 0-1 1-4 1; Peterson, Andy 0-0 0-0 0; Turner, David 0-3 0-0
0. Totals 29-65 13-20 77.
USC AIKEN (9-4, 4-2 PBC)
Brown, Mark 6-9 4-5 18; Faison, Byron 6-12 2-2 14; Gadomski, Jakub 4-10 2-2
11; McMasters, Casey 3-7 0-0 9; Nelson, Re'mon 3-7 1-2 8; Council, Sterling
2-4 0-0 4; Leonard, Seth 1-4 2-2 4; Willis, Kevin 1-5 0-0 2; Technow,
Michael 0-5 1-2 1; Flowers, Rashad 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 12-15 71.
Halftime: USC Aiken 34 Francis Marion 29
3-point goals--Francis Marion University 6-12 (Candelaria, Mike 2-4; Boyd,
 Simel1-1; Robinson, Kendrick 1-2; Anderson, Kaylan 1-2; Julious, Bryant
1-1; Mains, Herman 0-2), USC Aiken 7-19 (McMasters, Casey 3-6; Brown, Mark
2-4; Gadomski, Jakub 1-2; Nelson, Re'mon 1-2; Leonard, Seth 0-1; Faison,
Byron 0-4). Fouled out--Francis Marion University-None, USC Aiken-Leonard,
Seth; Willis, Kevin. Rebounds--Francis Marion University 42 (Boyd, Simel 8),
USC Aiken 37 (Technow, Michael 8). Assists--Francis Marion University 14
(Smith, Andrew 3), USC Aiken 14 (Council, Sterling 4). Total fouls--Francis
Marion University 16, USC Aiken 20. Technical fouls--None. A-2567