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FLORENCE, SC – Senior forward Liki Turner hit two free throws with 11.7 seconds remaining and Francis Marion University then survived a pair of potential game-winning attempts by Augusta State University in the final three seconds to claim a 62-61 Peach Belt Conference victory, Saturday evening (Dec. 3) in men's college basketball action.

Francis Marion improves to 5-3 overall and evens its conference mark at 1-1, and in the process snaps a 14-game losing skid to the Jaguars that dates back to a 71-65 FMU win on Feb. 28, 2004, in Florence.

Senior 6-0 point guard Marcus Wright led the Patriots with 14 points and five assists, while senior 6-10 center Andrew Smith added 12 points and seven rebounds.  Turner tallied eight points and seven rebounds, while Evrik Gary, Mi'Kyel Nero, and Darryn Frazier all scored eight points.

Senior 5-9 guard Tye Beal led ASU (2-3, 0-1) with 18 points.  The Jaguars are the three-time defending PBC regular-season champions.

Francis Marion scored the game's opening 11 points and eventually led 15-1 as Augusta State missed its first 11 field goal attempts.  However, the Jaguars responded with their own 14-3 spurt that trimmed the margin to 18-15.

A three-pointer by Wright with 3:38 left in the first half pushed the FMU advantage back to double digits at 29-19.  ASU closed the stanza with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 33-27 at halftime.

That run continued as the second half started.  Augusta State scored the opening 10 points to take a 37-33 advantage.  The lead would swell to seven points, 42-35, after a fast-break layup by Charles Robinson.  FMU answered with its own 8-0 run to regain the lead at 43-42 on a jumper by Smith with 12:23 remaining.

A jump shot by Gary gave Francis Marion a 55-51 lead with 4:35 on the clock.  The Jaguars then scored 10 of the game's next 12 points to forge a 61-57 lead with one minute left, the last bucket being a jump shot by Beal.  A three-pointer by Wright on the ensuing possession cut the FMU deficit to 61-60 with 40 ticks left.

Beal was then fouled with 12.8 seconds remaining, and he missed both ends of the double-bonus situation. Turner grabbed the rebound of the second miss and was immediately fouled.  He made both free throws to put Francis Marion up 62-61.  Augusta State hurried down the floor and O'Neal Armstrong and Harold Doby both missed potential game-winning shots in the final three seconds.

Francis Marion shot 56.4 percent from the floor for the game, including 12-of-18 attempts over the opening 20 minutes.  The Patriots also hit 13-of-17 free throws, while the Jaguars missed nine of their 25 charity tosses.

FMU outrebounded ASU 30-27 and held a 24-16 advantage in points-in-the-paint and a 12-5 lead in bench scoring.

The Patriots will now break for exams and then return to action on Dec. 14 with a road contest at Elizabeth City State University.

12-3-11 3:45 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 62, AUGUSTA STATE UNIV. 61

AUGUSTA STATE UNIV. (2-3 , 0-1 PBC)
Tye Beal 6-13 4-10 18; O'Neal Armstrong 4-12 2-2 14; Devonte Thomas 3-9 4-6
11; Travis Keels 3-8 1-2 7; Harold Doby 3-8 0-1 6; Charles Robinson 1-2 0-0
2; Roman Hill 0-2 2-2 2; Kelth Cameron 0-1 1-2 1; Kyle Armour 0-0 0-0 0;
D'Angelo Boyce 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 14-25 61.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-3 , 1-1 PBC)
Marcus Wright 5-6 1-2 14; Andrew Smith 6-10 0-1 12; Liki Turner 3-7 2-2 8;
Darryn Frazier 2-4 2-2 8; Mi'Kyel Nero 2-3 4-6 8; Evrik Gary 3-6 2-2 8;
Marcel Williams 1-1 0-0 2; Clayton Williams 0-2 2-2 2; Lorenzo Williams 0-0
0-0 0; Zamarius McLendon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-39 13-17 62.
Halftime: Francis Marion 33 Augusta State 27.
3-point goals--Augusta State Univ. 7-23 (O'Neal Armstrong 4-9; Tye Beal 2-7;
Devonte Thomas 1-6; Roman Hill 0-1), Francis Marion University 5-11 (Marcus
Wright 3-4; Darryn Frazier 2-3; Liki Turner 0-2; Evrik Gary 0-1; Clayton
Williams 0-1). Fouled out--Augusta State Univ.-None, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds--Augusta State Univ. 27 (Harold Doby 9), Francis
Marion University 30 (Liki Turner 7; Andrew Smith 7). Assists--Augusta State
Univ. 12 (O'Neal Armstrong 5), Francis Marion University 15 (Marcus Wright
5). Total fouls--Augusta State Univ. 16, Francis Marion University 24.
Technical fouls--None. A-404