FLORENCE, SC – Freshman guard Evrik Gary scored 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Francis Marion University claimed an 85-77 win over Armstrong Atlantic State University on Saturday (Feb. 26) that catapulted the Patriots into the Peach Belt Conference Tournament next week.

Francis Marion ends the regular season at 16-10 overall and tied with UNC Pembroke for third place in the PBC's East Division standings with a 9-9 mark.  FMU will enter next's week tournament as the fourth seed and will travel to top-seeded Augusta State University for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday evening.

Gary scored 15 of his points in the opening half as the Patriots held a 45-36 advantage at the break. Forward Simel Boyd celebrated Senior Day with 13 points and junior Liki Turner also added 13 points.  Junior 6-10 center Andrew Smith chipped in 12 points and senior forward David Turner tallied 11 points.

Senior forward Brett Goodwell led AASU with 17 points and 10 rebounds.  The Pirates end their season 14-12 and 8-10.

Trailing 8-6 in the early going, FMU rattled off 15 consecutive points to go on top 21-8.  Gary and senior point guard Bryant Julious combined for 10 of those 15 points.

The margin would remain between 13 and seven points before the teams left the floor for halftime.

AASU trimmed the deficit to five points at 60-55 near the midway point of the second stanza, but six straight points by the Patriots pushed the lead back to double figures.

The Pirates rallied again and cut the lead to one possession at 77-74 following a three-pointer by Grant Domsic with 1:07 left.  However, the Homecoming and Senior Day crowd of 1,917 exhorted the Patriots to hang on and FMU converted 8-of-10 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Pirates.

Over the final 20 minutes, FMU was 19-of-24 at the foul line and 10-of-22 from the field.

The Patriots turned 25 AASU turnovers into 25 points.

2-26-11 3:45 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center) FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 85, ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIV. 77

ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIV. (14-12 , 8-10 PBC) Goodwell, Brett 5-11 7-10 17; Vanlandingham, Chris 5-9 4-5 14; Wheeler, Jesse 4-9 3-4 12; Edwards, Chris 4-7 0-0 10; Horn, Mychal 4-8 1-4 10; Domsic, Grant 2-6 0-0 6; Edens, Austin 1-4 1-2 4; Jones, DeVon 1-1 0-0 2; Williams, Keyshore 1-2 0-0 2; Love, Allen 0-0 0-0 0; Bryant, Tray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 16-25 77.

FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (16-10 , 9-9 PBC) Gary, Evrik 6-8 4-5 19; Turner, Liki 3-13 7-8 13; Boyd, Simel 5-6 3-7 13; Smith, Andrew 5-8 2-4 12; Turner, David 3-7 4-4 11; Julious, Bryant 3-4 2-4 8; Coleman, Dominique 1-6 3-4 6; Greenfield, Shawn 1-5 1-2 3; Petreikis, Mindaugas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 26-38 85.

Halftime: Francis Marion 45 Armstrong Atlantic State 36 3-point goals--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 7-21 (Domsic, Grant 2-6; Edwards, Chris 2-3; Wheeler, Jesse 1-5; Edens, Austin 1-4; Horn, Mychal 1-2; Williams, Keyshore 0-1), Francis Marion University 5-13 (Gary, Evrik 3-4; Coleman, Dominique 1-3; Turner, David 1-1; Julious, Bryant 0-1; Greenfield, Shawn 0-3; Boyd, Simel 0-1). Fouled out--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ.-Jones, DeVon; Williams, Keyshore; Wheeler, Jesse; Edwards, Chris, Francis Marion University-Gary, Evrik. Rebounds--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 35 (Goodwell, Brett 10), Francis Marion University 30 (Gary, Evrik 5; Turner, Liki 5). Assists--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 14 (Goodwell, Brett 4), Francis Marion University 18 (Greenfield, Shawn 5). Total fouls--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 31, Francis Marion University 24. Technical fouls--None. A-1917