Box Score PEMBROKE, NC – Junior forward Liki Turner came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points, including two key free throws with 22 seconds left, to help Francis Marion University to an 86-82 road win over UNC Pembroke, Sunday afternoon (Jan. 2) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.
Turner connected on 6-of-8 shots and grabbed six rebounds as the Patriots improved to 7-2 overall and evened their PBC mark at 1-1. FMU will play host to Lander University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Four other Patriots scored in double figures: Andrew Smith with a season-high 16 points before fouling out, Evrik Gary 14, Shawn Greenfield 13 (and six assists), and Simel Boyd 13 (and six rebounds).
Guard Chris Hargrove paced UNCP (8-3, 1-2) with 24 points, while sophomore guard Shahmel Brackett added 15 points and seven rebounds. Brackett, however, was held to only a pair of free throws after halftime.
The two squads traded minimal leads in the opening 15 minutes of the contest. Francis Marion erased a 33-28 deficit with a 13-0 spurt that put the Patriots up 41-33. Five different Patriots contributed to the run. FMU led 50-42 at halftime after shooting 59.4 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes.
The FMU lead stretched to 11 points, at 57-46, after a three-pointer by Dominique Coleman. UNCP responded with its own 15-3 run that put the Braves up 61-60 with 11:22 left.
With the score tied at 63-63, Greenfield put the Patriots ahead to stay with a three-pointer. The lead would grow to six points (70-64), but a tip-in by Hargrove brought UNCP to within a bucket at 77-75 with 3:24 remaining.
FMU scored the next three points only to see UNCP again cut the margin to two at 81-79 with 1:34 left. Turner hit two free throws with 22 ticks on the clock to push the margin to 83-79 and after a UNCP miss, FMU senior David Turner hit 1-of-2 at the foul line to give Francis Marion an insurmountable 84-79 advantage with seven seconds left.
1-2-11 3:30 PM at Pembroke, N.C. - English E. Jones Center
FRANCIS MARION 86, UNC PEMBROKE 82
FRANCIS MARION (7-2, 1-1 PBC)
Turner, Liki 6-8 5-7 17; Smith, Andrew 7-13 2-2 16; Gary, Evrik 4-6 4-4 14;
Boyd, Simel 5-13 2-3 13; Greenfield, Shawn 5-11 1-5 13; Coleman, Dominique
2-5 2-5 8; Turner, David 1-4 2-4 5; Todd, Matt 0-1 0-0 0; Julious, Bryant
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-61 18-30 86.
UNC PEMBROKE (8-3, 1-2 PBC)
Hargrove, Chris 8-12 4-4 24; Brackett, Shahmel 5-11 2-2 15; Blakeney, George
2-10 8-9 12; Cooper, K.J. 4-8 0-2 9; Robinson, Mike 2-4 4-5 8; Priest, Nate
2-3 3-4 7; Hughes, Cody 2-10 2-2 6; Heath, Marcus 0-1 1-2 1; Alston, Ty 0-2
0-0 0. Totals 25-61 24-30 82.
Halftime: Francis Marion 50 UNCP 42.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 8-19 (Greenfield, Shawn 2-5; Coleman,
Dominique 2-3; Gary, Evrik 2-2; Turner, David 1-3; Boyd, Simel 1-5; Turner,
Liki 0-1), UNC Pembroke 8-18 (Hargrove, Chris 4-6; Brackett, Shahmel 3-6;
Cooper, K.J. 1-3; Hughes, Cody 0-2; Heath, Marcus 0-1). Fouled out--Francis
Marion-Smith, Andrew, UNC Pembroke-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 34 (Boyd,
Simel 6; Turner, Liki 6; Coleman, Dominique 6), UNC Pembroke 40 (Cooper,
K.J. 13). Assists--Francis Marion 17 (Greenfield, Shawn 6), UNC Pembroke 15
(Heath, Marcus 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion 21, UNC Pembroke 24.
Technical fouls--None. A-364
