FLORENCE, SC – Senior guard George Johnson drained two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to complete a 13-0 run to end the game giving third-ranked Augusta State University a 62-61 victory over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 8) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.

The loss drops Francis Marion to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in the PBC.  FMU will close out its three-game home stand by hosting 13th-ranked USC Aiken on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  ASU (12-1, 4-1) rebounded from its first loss on Wednesday by claiming its 12th straight win over the Patriots.

Senior point guard Bryant Julious came off the FMU bench to score a team-high and season-high 13 points.  He made 5-of-7 shots, including a pair of three-pointers, and handed out three assists in 24 minutes of action.  Freshman guard Evrik Gary and junior forward Liki Turner each scored 11 points, with Turner hauling down 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.  In the first half, Turner also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career and now has 1,003.

Johnson paced the Jaguars with 17 points, while sophomore forward Ben Purser added 16 points and eight rebounds off the ASU bench.

Augusta State took a 2-0 lead on free throws by O'Neal Armstrong, but would not lead again until the game's final sequence.  FMU took a 10-4 lead after a layup by Simel Boyd. The margin would swell to 21-11 following a jump shot by David Turner with eight minute left before halftime.  The Patriots would carry a 30-23 margin into the locker room after holding ASU to 9-of-26 shooting (34.6%) over the opening 20 minutes.

A three-pointer by Gary early in the second stanza pushed the lead to 12 at 39-27, but ASU cut the advantage to 44-40 near the midway point of the half.  Again, Francis Marion stretched the lead to 12 points on three different occasions, the final time when Julious completed a three-point play with 4:13 remaining.

The Patriots would not score again.

Francis Marion managed only two more shot attempts and one free throw attempt, while committing two turnovers.  ASU trimmed the lead to 61-60 with 42 ticks left when Franck Ndongo made one of two free throws. However, the second missed charity toss ended up in the hands of Purser.

Ndongo missed a shot with 16 seconds remaining, and following a mad scramble for the ball, ASU point guard Kyle Armour grabbed the rebound.  He then missed but Johnson claimed the rebound and was fouled with 2.6 seconds left.  He made both tries and Gary was stripped of the ball at midcourt as he prepared to heave a half-court attempt at the final horn.

Francis Marion held ASU to 40 percent shooting for the game, shot 52.5 percent themselves, and outrebounded the Jaguars 33-22.  However, the Patriots were only 13-of-24 at the foul stripe and committed 20 turnovers, which resulted in 23 ASU points.

1-8-11 3:35 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
AUGUSTA STATE UNIV. 62, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 61

AUGUSTA STATE UNIV. (#3 12-1 , 4-1)
Johnson, George 6-12 3-3 17; Purser, Ben 6-12 2-2 16; Keels, Travis 5-9 3-5
13; Ndongo, Franck 3-6 5-7 11; Beal, Tye 0-1 2-2 2; Armstrong, O'Neal 0-3
2-2 2; Brown, Howard 0-1 1-2 1; Schranz, Eric 0-0 0-0 0; Brown, Caleb 0-4
0-0 0; Armour, Kyle 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 18-23 62.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (8-3 , 2-2 PBC)
Julious, Bryant 5-7 1-1 13; Turner, Liki 3-4 5-9 11; Gary, Evrik 4-6 0-0 11;
Boyd, Simel 3-7 2-4 8; Turner, David 3-4 0-0 7; Coleman, Dominique 2-5 3-4
7; Smith, Andrew 1-4 2-6 4; Todd, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Greenfield, Shawn 0-3 0-0
0. Totals 21-40 13-24 61.
Halftime: Francis Marion 30 Augusta State 23
3-point goals--Augusta State Univ. 4-15 (Johnson, George 2-6; Purser, Ben
2-3; Beal, Tye 0-1; Armstrong, O'Neal 0-2; Brown, Caleb 0-2; Armour, Kyle
0-1), Francis Marion University 6-13 (Gary, Evrik 3-4; Julious, Bryant 2-3;
Turner, David 1-1; Coleman, Dominique 0-1; Greenfield, Shawn 0-3; Boyd,
Simel 0-1). Fouled out--Augusta State Univ.-None, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds--Augusta State Univ. 22 (Purser, Ben 8), Francis
Marion University 33 (Turner, Liki 10). Assists--Augusta State Univ. 13
(Armour, Kyle 5), Francis Marion University 13 (Boyd, Simel 4). Total
fouls--Augusta State Univ. 19, Francis Marion University 23. Technical
fouls--None. A-375