FLORENCE, SC – Junior forward Liki Turner scored all of his career-high 25 points after halftime, including the game-winning steal and layup with 29 seconds left in overtime, as Francis Marion University outlasted Lander University 92-90, Wednesday night (Jan. 5) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.

Francis Marion, the top scoring team in the PBC, ups its overall mark to 8-2 and its conference record to 2-1.  Lander dips to 6-5 and remains winless in conference play at 0-4.

FMU will play host to third-ranked and unbeaten Augusta State University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Plagued by two early fouls, Turner played only three minutes in the opening half and missed his only shot attempt.  In the second stanza and extra period, he made 10-of-13 field goal attempts and 5-of-5 free throws. 

FMU 6-10 junior center Andrew Smith scored a season-high 18 points, 17 of which came in the opening 20 minutes, and also grabbed nine rebounds.  Freshman guard Evrik Gary registered 13 points, while senior Dominique Coleman tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, and point guard Shawn Greenfield added 10 points.  Senior swingman Simel Boyd was held to eight points, but did hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds and handed out five assists.

Junior guard Calvin Liptrot led Lander with 25 points, while senior guard Tovi Bailey scored 20 and recorded six assists and six rebounds.

Entering the overtime period tied at 83-83, the score later became knotted at 86, 88, and 90.  The final deadlock at 90-90 occurred when Turner scored on a jumper in the lane with 56 seconds remaining.  On the ensuing Lander possession, Turner stripped the ball from David Pruett and raced to the other end to score on a driving layup with 29 ticks left.

Lander had three chances to tie or win the game, but Liptrot misfired on a three-pointer and a layup and then Pruett could not connect on a three-pointer at the final horn.

The evenly played game was also tied at halftime, 42-42.  With 10 minutes left in regulation, the Patriots held a slim 66-63 advantage.  Finally, FMU was able to build a cushion, taking a 78-69 lead following a tip-in by senior David Turner with 6:15 remaining.

However, Lander responded with a 12-3 spurt that tied the game at 81-81 after a free throw by Bailey with just under three minutes on the clock.  Francis Marion had two shots to win the game in the final 45 seconds of regulation, while Lander missed on an opportunity to possibly win by turning the ball over on an in-bounds play with 21 seconds left.

With a slight height advantage, FMU outrebounded the Bearcats 49-42 and held a 24-18 lead in second-chance points. Francis Marion shot 44.2 percent from the field, while Lander connected on 45.2 percent of its shots.  However, FMU was 4-of-5 from the field in the extra session, compared to 3-of-10 for Lander.

1-5-11 7:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 92, LANDER UNIVERSITY 90

LANDER UNIVERSITY (6-5 , 0-4 PBC)
Liptrot, Calvin 9-21 6-10 25; Bailey, Tovi 8-14 4-8 20; Pruett, David 3-11
7-9 13; Kennedy, Jermel 5-10 1-2 11; Carrier, Darius 4-7 0-0 8; Tabasevic,
Stefan 3-3 0-0 8; Canty, Darion 1-4 2-2 4; Broughton, Marcus 0-1 1-2 1;
Njie, Dawda 0-2 0-0 0; Waterworth, Cody 0-0 0-0 0; Bastian, Quentin 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 33-73 21-33 90.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (8-2 , 2-1 PBC)
Turner, Liki 10-14 5-5 25; Smith, Andrew 7-10 4-6 18; Gary, Evrik 4-15 3-5
13; Coleman, Dominique 4-11 2-2 12; Greenfield, Shawn 4-8 0-1 10; Boyd,
Simel 3-10 2-6 8; Turner, David 2-5 2-3 6; Julious, Bryant 0-2 0-0 0; Todd,
Matt 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-77 18-28 92.
Halftime: 42-42
3-point goals--Lander University 3-14 (Tabasevic, Stefan 2-2; Liptrot,
Calvin 1-4; Pruett, David 0-7; Kennedy, Jermel 0-1), Francis Marion
University 6-25 (Greenfield, Shawn 2-4; Gary, Evrik 2-8; Coleman, Dominique
2-8; Julious, Bryant 0-1; Todd, Matt 0-2; Boyd, Simel 0-2). Fouled
out--Lander University-None, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--Lander University 42 (Kennedy, Jermel 10), Francis Marion
University 49 (Boyd, Simel 13). Assists--Lander University 11 (Bailey, Tovi
6), Francis Marion University 19 (Boyd, Simel 5; Coleman, Dominique 5).
Total fouls--Lander University 23, Francis Marion University 19. Technical
fouls--Lander University-None, Francis Marion University-Turner, Liki;
Coleman, Dominique. A-311