FLORENCE, SC - Senior guard Kendrick Robinson scored 18 points and senior reserve guard Herman Mains added a season-high 13 points as Francis Marion University held off Georgia Southwestern State University for a 68-60 Peach Belt Conference win, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) in men's basketball action.

At 13-2 overall, Francis Marion is off to the third-best 15-game start in program history.  FMU also retains sole possession of second place in the PBC's East Division with a 5-1 mark.  Only the 2003-04 squad (17-1) and the 1979-80 team (17-2) opened with better marks.

Following Robinson and Mains, junior swingman Edward Gullatte tallied nine points and eight rebounds, while 6-9 sophomore center Andrew Smith added nine points.

Senior 6-7 forward Chris Rawls paced Georgia Southwestern (4-10, 0-4) with 28 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots.  He connected on 14-of-18 attempts at the free throw line.  Sophomore guard Evan Mobley chipped in 19 points, 11 of which came in the second half.

A free throw by Rawls staked the Hurricanes to an early 12-5 lead.  A layup by Rawls with 11:50 left kept the Georgia Southwestern lead at 14-8. Francis Marion then scored 11 straight points, eight by Mains, and would never trail again.  The Patriot lead would swell to 13 points (37-24) when junior guard Mike Candelaria scored on a scooping layup with four seconds left before halftime.

Georgia Southwestern trimmed the margin to six points several times in the second stanza, including at 45-39 with 12:10 left following an inside basket by Rawls.  The margin was only eight (56-48) when Candelaria drilled a long three-pointer with 2:48 on the clock to increase the FMU advantage to 59-48.  Following a Hurricanes' miss, Candelaria hit two free throws to increase the lead to 13 points at the two-minute mark.

A pair of free throws by Rawls again cut the margin to six points at 63-57 with 42 ticks left.  However, FMU would hit 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win.

With all statistical categories being relatively even, the difference came down to FMU shooting 44.9 percent compared to the Hurricanes' 37.3 percent.  The Patriot bench also outscored the GSW reserves 29-0.

FMU will return to action on Sunday when the Patriots play host to Columbus State University at 3:30 p.m., while Georgia Southwestern travels to UNC Pembroke on Sunday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.

1-16-10 4:10 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 68, GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN ST. UNIV. 60
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN ST. UNIV. (4-10, 0-4 PBC)
Rawls, Chris 7-14 14-18 28; Mobley, Evan 8-15 2-2 19; Scott, Marcus 3-8 1-2
8; Roderick, Ric 1-9 0-0 3; Hunt, Dannie 0-0 2-4 2; Smith, Derek 0-0 0-0 0;
Mendell, Matt 0-1 0-0 0; Gunnett, Tyler 0-0 0-0 0; Kenimer, Will 0-2 0-0 0;
McGee-Jones, Sedale 0-2 0-0 0; Adside, Damayrius 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-51
19-26 60.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (13-2 , 5-1 PBC)
Robinson, Kendrick 6-14 4-5 18; Mains, Herman 4-7 3-3 13; Gullatte, Edward
3-4 3-5 9; Smith, Andrew 4-5 1-2 9; Candelaria, Mike 2-2 2-2 7; Julious,
Bryant 1-3 3-5 5; Anderson, Kaylan 0-5 3-6 3; Petreikis, Mindaugas 1-1 0-0
2; Boyd, Simel 1-4 0-0 2; Turner, David 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 19-28 68.
Halftime: Francis Marion 37 Georgia Southwestern St. Univ.  24
3-point goals--Georgia Southwestern St. Univ. 3-18 (Mobley, Evan 1-5; Scott,
Marcus 1-2; Roderick, Ric 1-9; Mendell, Matt 0-1; McGee-Jones, Sedale 0-1),
Francis Marion University 5-15 (Mains, Herman 2-3; Robinson, Kendrick 2-5;
Candelaria, Mike 1-1; Julious, Bryant 0-2; Anderson, Kaylan 0-1; Boyd, Simel
0-1; Turner, David 0-2). Fouled out--Georgia Southwestern St. Univ.-None,
Francis Marion University-Boyd, Simel. Rebounds--Georgia Southwestern St.
Univ. 32 (Rawls, Chris 9), Francis Marion University 33 (Gullatte, Edward
8). Assists--Georgia Southwestern St. Univ. 9 (Mobley, Evan 4), Francis
Marion University 12 (Candelaria, Mike 3; Anderson, Kaylan 3). Total
fouls--Georgia Southwestern St. Univ. 22, Francis Marion University 20.
Technical fouls--Georgia Southwestern St. Univ.-None, Francis Marion
University-None. A-600