Box Score AIKEN, SC – Fifth-ranked USC Aiken closed the game with a 14-3 run over the final four minutes to claim a 78-67 Peach Belt Conference victory over Francis Marion University, Wednesday night (Dec. 1) in men's college basketball action.
The Patriots, who were after their first-ever win over a Top-5 opponent, fall to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the PBC. FMU will play host to The Apprentice School on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Senior swingman Dominique Coleman came off the FMU bench to score a career-high equaling 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. Senior forward Simel Boyd tallied 13 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard Evrik Gary added 12 points and four assists.
Myles Holley came off the USCA (5-0, 1-0) bench to score a game-high 22 points.
The Pacers raced to a quick 12-4 advantage only to see Francis Marion rally to knot the score at 21-21 on a Coleman three-pointer near the midway point of the half. A 17-8 spurt by USCA pushed the Pacer lead back to 38-29. FMU managed a brief rally that trimmed the margin to 40-35 at halftime.
The upset-minded Patriots scored the first seven points of the second stanza to take a 42-40 lead. USCA responded with 10 consecutive points to go back on top 50-42. FMU would gradually claw its way back into the game and when Coleman hit another three-pointer with 4:49 left the Patriots led 63-62.
Following a USCA basket, Boyd tied the score at 64-64 with a free throw. However over the final 4:11, the Pacers outscored FMU 14-3 and held FMU to 1-of-7 shooting from the floor.
For the game, Francis Marion shot 39 percent from the field, while USCA hit 49.2 percent of its field goal attempts. Both teams made seven three-pointers.
12-01-10 7:30 PM at Aiken, SC (Convocation Center)
#5 USC AIKEN 78, FRANCIS MARION 67
FRANCIS MARION (5-2, 0-1 PBC)
Coleman, Dominique 7-11 2-2 21; Boyd, Simel 5-14 2-4 13; Gary, Evrik 4-9 3-3
12; Greenfield, Shawn 3-10 1-2 7; Turner, Liki 1-8 4-4 6; Smith, Andrew 2-5
0-0 4; Turner, David 1-2 0-0 2; Petreikis, Mindaugas 0-0 2-2 2; Julious,
Bryant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 14-17 67.
#5 USC AIKEN (#5 5-0 , 1-0 PBC)
Holley, Myles 8-12 4-5 22; Technow, Michael 4-6 2-3 10; Willis, Kevin 4-4
2-7 10; Faison, Byron 4-10 0-0 9; Shephard, Brandon 3-5 0-1 8; Council,
Sterling 3-4 0-0 7; Nelson, Re'mon 2-5 0-0 5; Brown, Alvin 1-6 3-3 5;
Manigault, Kenny 1-6 0-0 2; Seilern, Jesse 0-2 0-0 0; Carter, Dajuwan 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 30-61 11-19 78.
Halftime: USCA 40 Francis Marion 35
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-21 (Coleman, Dominique 5-7; Gary, Evrik 1-3;
Boyd, Simel 1-5; Turner, David 0-1; Turner, Liki 0-2; Greenfield, Shawn
0-3), USC Aiken 7-15 (Holley, Myles 2-2; Shephard, Brandon 2-3; Faison,
Byron 1-5; Council, Sterling 1-2; Nelson, Re'mon 1-2; Manigault, Kenny 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-Smith, Andrew, USC Aiken-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 36 (Boyd, Simel 9), USC Aiken 36 (Willis, Kevin 8). Assists--Francis
Marion 12 (Gary, Evrik 4), USC Aiken 19 (Council, Sterling 5). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 18, USC Aiken 18. Technical fouls--None. A-2103
