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SAVANNAH, GA -- Senior forward Liki Turner scored 15 points in each half for a career-high 30 points as Francis Marion University rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to grab a 97-94 Peach Belt Conference victory over host Armstrong Atlantic State University, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17) in men's college basketball action.

Armstrong entered the game with the nation's third-ranked scoring offense at 93.2 ppg and the Pirates raced to an amazing 60-48 halftime lead on 55.6 percent shooting.  However over the final 20 minutes, Francis Marion limited the Pirates (4-5, 1-2) to only 34 points on 36.4 percent shooting, including only 3-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc.

All five starters scored in double figures as FMU improved to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the PBC.  FMU will now break for the holidays and will return to the court for three straight Peach Belt home contests after the New Year. Turner connected on 10-of-25 field goal attempts and 10-of-13 free throws, while also hauling down a team-high 13 rebounds.

Junior forward Zamarius McLendon scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while the backcourt tandem of Marcus Wright and Evrik Gary each tallied 13 points, and 6-10 senior center Andrew Smith scored 10 points.  Senior 6-6 forward Marcel Williams came off the FMU bench and flirted with a triple double as he notched 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

Armstrong placed four players in double figures, led by 21 points and 13 rebounds from senior Keyshore Williams. Senior Chris Vanlandingham added a near triple-double with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while reserve Grant Domsic chipped in 20 points, all in the opening half.

Armstrong blistered the nets in the first half, including hitting 10-of-17 three-point attempts. Domsic himself was 6-of-8 on threes over the opening 20 minutes as the Pirates did not trail in the first stanza.

After falling behind 63-50 early in the second half, Francis Marion stormed back with a 19-6 run to knot the score at 69-69 on a Turner free throw at the 10:01 mark.  A basket by Turner gave FMU its first lead of the game at 82-80 with 6:05 left.  Another basket by Turner with 1:19 remaining gave the Patriots the lead for good at 92-90.  A combined five free throws by McLendon and Williams over the final 25 seconds helped seal the come-from-behind win.

The Patriots held a slight 45-42 rebounding edge, but led 17-7 in second-chance points.  FMU committed only 12 turnovers in the high-scoring contest.

12-17-11 3:30 p.m. at Savannah, Ga. (Alumni Arena)
FRANCIS MARION 97, ARMSTRONG 94

FRANCIS MARION (6-4, 2-1 PBC)
Liki Turner 10-25 10-13 30; Zamarius McLendon 5-8 8-10 18; Marcus Wright 4-8
1-2 13; Evrik Gary 4-10 2-3 13; Marcel Williams 4-6 2-6 10; Andrew Smith 4-8
2-2 10; Clayton Williams 1-2 0-0 3; Lorenzo Williams 0-2 0-0 0; Sam Caron
0-1 0-0 0; Darryn Frazier 0-3 0-0 0; Derek Hosey 0-0 0-0 0; Maurice Grant
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-73 25-36 97.
ARMSTRONG (4-5, 1-2 PBC)
Keyshore Williams 7-15 4-6 21; Chris Vanlandingham 5-11 10-13 20; Grant
Domsic 6-10 2-2 20; Aric Miller 4-13 1-2 12; DeVon Jones 3-3 0-0 6; J.C.
Winn 3-6 0-2 6; Mychal Horn 2-5 0-0 5; Stephen Davis 2-5 0-0 4; Austin Edens
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 17-25 94.
Halftime: Armstrong 60 Francis Marion 48
3-point goals--Francis Marion 8-24 (Marcus Wright 4-5; Evrik Gary 3-8;
Clayton Williams 1-2; Sam Caron 0-1; Darryn Frazier 0-3; Marcel Williams
0-1; Zamarius McLendon 0-1; Liki Turner 0-3), Armstrong 13-29 (Grant Domsic
6-9; Aric Miller 3-4; Keyshore Williams 3-10; Mychal Horn 1-3; Austin Edens
0-1; Chris Vanlandingham 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Andrew Smith,
Armstrong-DeVon Jones; J.C. Winn. Rebounds--Francis Marion 45 (Liki Turner
13), Armstrong 42 (Keyshore Williams 13). Assists--Francis Marion 16 (Marcel
Williams 7), Armstrong 24 (Chris Vanlandingham 8). Total fouls--Francis
Marion 24, Armstrong 25. Technical fouls--None. A-324