GREENWOOD, SC  -  Junior point guard Mike Candelaria came off the bench to hit seven three-pointers and score 21 points to lead Francis Marion University to an 82-58 Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander University, Wednesday night (Jan. 6) at Horne Arena in men's basketball action.

The Patriots improved to 11-1 overall (equaling the third-best start in program history) and 3-0 in the PBC. Lander falls to 5-7 and 0-4.  FMU will play at third-ranked Augusta State University on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.

Candelaria, averaging just 5.4 points per game this season, nailed seven out of nine from behind the arc, including several from well behind the line. As a team, FMU was 10 for 19 overall (53 percent) from three-point territory.

Junior forward David Turner added 11 points and nine rebounds for Francis Marion, while Simel Boyd and Edward Gullatte added 10 points apiece.

Brenton Harris led the Bearcats with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Greg Smalls added 13 points.

Lander missed nine of its first 10 shots from the floor and trailed early.  Later, Francis Marion put together a 17-3 run, including Candelaria's first three triples and two fast-break baskets by Gullate for a 26-11 advantage with four-plus minutes left before halftime.

Candelaria's fourth three-pointer gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the half at 16 points, 30-14, at the 3:18 mark.  The Patriots led 36-23 at the break.

FMU junior guard Bryant Julious opened the second half with a three-pointer to match Francis Marion's largest lead of the game at 39-23. But after trading baskets, Lander scored eight unanswered points to close within 41-33 with 15:05 left when Smalls and Bailey hit three-pointers, and Harris put back his own miss.

The Bearcats twice got within seven points, 42-35 and 44-37, but Francis Marion pushed its lead back to 12, 49-37.

Kendrick Robinson's three-pointer at the 10-minute mark gave the Patriots a 54-40 lead and Boyd's three-point play gave the visitors their largest lead of the game at 17 points, 57-40, with 9:11 to go. Candelaria hit another three-pointer to up the lead to 60-42.

The Bearcats tried to rally, getting five unanswered points to close to within 60-47, but Candelaria once again killed Lander's momentum, hitting his seventh trey of the night.

Gullatte's steal and fast-break lay-up gave Francis Marion a 20-point lead at 74-54 with 2:30 to go. After the Bearcats cut it to 74-58, the Patriots closed the game on an 8-0 run.

For the game, Lander made 20 of 60 shots from the floor (33 percent), 13 of 23 free throws (57 percent), and five of 19 from 3-point range (26 percent). Francis Marion hit 28 of 53 shots (53 percent) and 16 of 25 free throws (64 percent). The Patriots had a 40-37 rebounding edge.

1-6-10 7:50 pm at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
FRANCIS MARION 82, LANDER UNIVERSITY 58
FRANCIS MARION (11-1, 3-0 PBC)
Candelaria, Mike 7-9 0-0 21; Turner, David 4-10 2-2 11; Gullatte, Edward 4-5
2-3 10; Boyd, Simel 2-4 6-11 10; Smith, Andrew 4-6 1-2 9; Robinson, Kendrick
2-5 2-3 7; Julious, Bryant 2-5 0-0 5; Anderson, Kaylan 1-2 3-4 5; Mains,
Herman 1-5 0-0 2; Faulkner, Robert 1-1 0-0 2; Petreikis, Mindaugas 0-1 0-0
0; Gary, Evrik 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 16-25 82.
LANDER UNIVERSITY (5-7, 0-4 PBC)
Harris, Brenton 7-13 5-7 19; Smalls, Greg 4-6 2-2 13; Sparrow, Dane 2-12 3-5
7; Johnson, Darius 2-3 0-0 4; Barrino, Da'Shon 1-2 1-2 3; Mochoskay, Jacob
1-2 0-0 3; Bailey, Tovi 1-12 0-0 3; Spruill, Deangelo 0-3 2-2 2; Young,
Antonio 1-3 0-0 2; Milner, Curtis 1-2 0-5 2; Kelley, Kevin 0-1 0-0 0; Pope,
Antonio 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 13-23 58.
Halftime: Francis Marion 36 Lander 23.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 10-19 (Candelaria, Mike 7-9; Julious, Bryant
1-3; Robinson, Kendrick 1-3; Turner, David 1-2; Mains, Herman 0-2), Lander
University 5-19 (Smalls, Greg 3-4; Mochoskay, Jacob 1-2; Bailey, Tovi 1-3;
Spruill, Deangelo 0-2; Kelley, Kevin 0-1; Sparrow, Dane 0-7). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Lander University-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion
40 (Turner, David 9), Lander University 37 (Harris, Brenton 9).
Assists--Francis Marion 20 (Mains, Herman 4), Lander University 12 (Sparrow,
Dane 4). Total fouls--Francis Marion 21, Lander University 19. Technical
fouls--None. A-310