FLORENCE, SC – Junior forward Liki Turner scored all 15 of his points in the second half and Francis Marion University overcame a double-digit deficit in the final 15 minutes to claim an 80-73 Peach Belt Conference victory over Georgia College, Friday night (Jan. 28) in men's basketball action.

Francis Marion moves to 12-5 overall and is tied for second place in the PBC's East Division with a 5-4 conference mark.  It is the first win for FMU over the Bobcats in Florence since 1999.  The Patriots will play host to the University of Montevallo on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Turner was only 3-of-4 from the floor, but hit 9-of-11 free throws, including four in the final 26 seconds. Senior swingman Dominique Coleman came off the FMU bench and equaled his career high of 21 points for the third time this season.  He was 7-of-7 from the foul line as the Patriots drained 28-of-33 free throws as a team.

Senior point guard Bryant Julious started in place of injured Shawn Greenfield and tallied 13 points and five assists in 36 minutes.  Senior forward Simel Boyd added 10 points and eight rebounds and freshman guard Evrik Gary chipped in 10 points despite being hampered by foul trouble and playing only 15 minutes.

Juniors Jared Holmes and Ryan Aquino led Georgia College (9-7, 3-5) with 20 points apiece.  Aquino added a team-high six rebounds.  The Bobcats were without head coach Terry Sellers who missed the game for personal reasons.

The Bobcats led for most of the first half, including a 42-33 advantage with 53 ticks left before halftime.  A free throw by Matt Todd and a three-point play by Julious with three seconds left helped trim the margin to 42-37 at intermission.

In the second stanza, Georgia College opened a 53-43 lead following two free throws by Holmes with 15:22 left in the contest.  Coleman then sparked an 18-6 FMU run that put the Patriots on top 61-59 just past the midway point of the half.  Twelve seconds later, a jumper by Holmes tied the score at 61-61.

On the ensuing possessions, Francis Marion hit one free throw and Aquino answered with a layup to give the Bobcats a 63-62 lead.  Julious responded with a three-pointer to give FMU the lead for good and ignite an 8-0 spurt.

An inside basket by Aquino with 2:40 remaining cut the FMU advantage to 72-71.  However, the Bobcats missed their last four field goal attempts and committed two turnovers, while FMU made 5-of-8 free throws and Gary drained a three-pointer to pull out the win.

Both Turner and Julious also drew offensive fouls at the defensive end to thwart two late Bobcat possessions.

Both teams shot 41 percent from the floor, although Francis Marion connected on eight three-pointers to the Bobcats' five.

1-28-11 7:40 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 80, GEORGIA COLLEGE 73

GEORGIA COLLEGE (9-7 , 3-5 PBC)
Aquino, Ryan 7-14 4-6 20; Holmes, Jared 5-9 10-12 20; Grant, Jordan 3-5 2-2
9; Bell, Joey 2-3 2-4 7; Wiedeman, Reece 2-6 1-1 5; Hurst, Josh 1-2 2-2 4;
Legates, Ryan 1-10 0-0 3; Augustine, Mike 1-3 0-0 2; Robinson, Aaron 1-2 0-0
2; Davis, JP 0-1 1-3 1; Thomas, Royal 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 22-30 73.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (12-5 , 5-4 PBC)
Coleman, Dominique 6-14 7-7 21; Turner, Liki 3-4 9-11 15; Julious, Bryant
4-10 3-3 13; Boyd, Simel 4-13 2-4 10; Gary, Evrik 2-7 4-4 10; Turner, David
2-3 0-0 5; Todd, Matt 1-1 1-2 4; Smith, Andrew 0-2 2-2 2; Petreikis,
Mindaugas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 28-33 80.
Halftime: Georgia College 42 Francis Marion 37
3-point goals--Georgia College 5-16 (Aquino, Ryan 2-4; Legates, Ryan 1-7;
Bell, Joey 1-2; Grant, Jordan 1-1; Augustine, Mike 0-2), Francis Marion
University 8-18 (Coleman, Dominique 2-8; Julious, Bryant 2-4; Gary, Evrik
2-3; Turner, David 1-1; Todd, Matt 1-1; Boyd, Simel 0-1). Fouled
out--Georgia College-Hurst, Josh; Aquino, Ryan, Francis Marion
University-Smith, Andrew. Rebounds--Georgia College 30 (Aquino, Ryan 6),
Francis Marion University 37 (Boyd, Simel 8). Assists--Georgia College 14
(Legates, Ryan 3; Holmes, Jared 3), Francis Marion University 17 (Julious,
Bryant 5). Total fouls--Georgia College 29, Francis Marion University 24.
Technical fouls--None. A-650