Box Score
SAVANNAH, GA – Senior Jesse Wheeler hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds left, on a rare second-chance opportunity for Armstrong Atlantic State University, to help the Pirates thwart a late Francis Marion University comeback and claim a 79-75 victory, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 5) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.
FMU suffers its second consecutive loss and drops to 13-7 overall and 6-6 in the PBC. The Patriots will entertain North Georgia College & State University on Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Smith University Center.
Junior forward Liki Turner led Francis Marion with 21 points and 11 rebounds – his fifth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Evrik Gary scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, while senior David Turner came off the Patriot bench to chip in 10 points. Senior swingman Simel Boyd added eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Patriots held a 52-33 rebounding advantage, which resulted in a 29-9 edge in second-chance points, but the one key opportunity got away in that final minute.
Guard Chris Vanlandingham led AASU (13-7, 7-5) with 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Grant Domsic added 16 points off the Pirate bench.
After a brief tie at 2-2, AASU raced to a 13-4 lead. That margin would grow to 28-18 and later 36-23. A three-pointer by Shawn Greenfield and a jumper in the lane by Boyd cut the deficit to 36-28 at halftime.
FMU would further cut the margin to four points on two occasions early in the second half, but the Pirates regained the momentum and went up 47-36 with 13;33 left. A three-pointer by Domsic pushed the margin to 55-42 near the midway point of the second half. With 7:28 left, the Patriots still trailed by 13 points, 60-47.
Francis Marion then put on a furious 21-8 rally to tie the score at 68-68 after a free throw by Andrew Smith with 2:49 left. Boyd grabbed the offensive rebound on Smith's second-attempt miss and his stick-back gave the Patriots their first lead of the game at 70-68. Consecutive baskets by Vanlandingham regained the lead for the Pirates at 72-70. One free throw by Liki Turner with a minute remaining cut the lead to 72-71, and set the stage for Wheeler's three-pointer.
FMU's Bryant Julious hit two free throws with 16 ticks left to make the score 75-73, but the Pirates hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final seconds to seal the final decision..
2-5-11 3:30 p.m. at Savannah, Ga. (Alumni Arena)
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC 79, FRANCIS MARION 75
FRANCIS MARION (13-7, 6-6 PBC)
Turner, Liki 9-20 3-4 21; Gary, Evrik 6-17 0-0 15; Turner, David 3-5 2-2 10;
Boyd, Simel 4-13 0-0 8; Julious, Bryant 2-4 3-3 7; Smith, Andrew 1-5 3-4 5;
Greenfield, Shawn 2-5 0-0 5; Todd, Matt 1-4 0-0 2; Coleman, Dominique 1-8
0-0 2. Totals 29-81 11-13 75.
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC (13-7, 7-5 PBC)
Vanlandingham, Chris 8-11 3-5 20; Domsic, Grant 5-10 2-2 16; Wheeler, Jesse
3-4 4-4 12; Goodwell, Brett 3-8 6-8 12; Edwards, Chris 2-5 0-0 6; Edens,
Austin 2-7 0-0 5; Jones, DeVon 2-6 0-0 4; Williams, Keyshore 1-3 2-2 4;
Horn, Mychal 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 17-21 79.
Halftime: AASU 36 Francis Marion 28
3-point goals--Francis Marion 6-24 (Gary, Evrik 3-7; Turner, David 2-3;
Greenfield, Shawn 1-2; Todd, Matt 0-2; Coleman, Dominique 0-4; Julious,
Bryant 0-1; Boyd, Simel 0-3; Turner, Liki 0-2), Armstrong Atlantic 10-24
(Domsic, Grant 4-9; Edwards, Chris 2-3; Wheeler, Jesse 2-2; Edens, Austin
1-5; Vanlandingham, Chris 1-3; Horn, Mychal 0-1; Williams, Keyshore 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-Coleman, Dominique, Armstrong Atlantic-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 52 (Turner, Liki 11), Armstrong Atlantic 33
(Goodwell, Brett 11). Assists--Francis Marion 8 (Gary, Evrik 3), Armstrong
Atlantic 17 (Goodwell, Brett 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion 17, Armstrong
Atlantic 18. Technical fouls--None. A-306
