FLORENCE, SC – Senior point guard Bryant Julious came off the bench and scored a season-high 17 points in the final 8:01 of the contest to rally Francis Marion University to a much-needed 74-67 victory over North Georgia College & State University, Wednesday night (Feb. 9) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

FMU stops a two-game losing streak and improves to 14-7 overall, while also climbing back into a tie for second place in the PBC's East Division with a 7-6 mark.  The Patriots will play at Clayton State University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the first of three straight road games.

Junior forward Liki Turner paced Francis Marion with 24 points and 16 rebounds – his sixth double-double of the season and second in as many games. He scored 15 of his points in the opening half.  Senior reserve swingman Dominique Coleman added 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Julious hit 5-of-7 shots from the field and was 6-of-6 at the foul line, while the Hemingway native also handed out three assists in only 18 minutes of action.

Senior guard Carl Taylor led North Georgia (8-13, 5-7) with 26 points, including 8-of-16 on three-point attempts, while Elijah Smith contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.

Trailing 36-27 at intermission, FMU saw its deficit grow to 11 points at 41-30 with 17:41 remaining. The Patriots then responded with a 17-5 run to claim a 47-46 lead on following a three-pointer by Coleman.  Two free throws by Julious, his first points of the game, extended the Patriot lead to 53-48 with 8:01 left.

A three-pointer by Taylor tied the game at 65-65 with just over two minutes remaining.  A three-pointer by Julious put FMU ahead to stay, 68-65, with 1:06 on the clock, and following a North Georgia miss, Julious drained a pair of free throws to put FMU up 70-65.

Two Saints free throws cut the margin to 70-67, but Turner and Julious both hit two free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win.

Francis Marion connected on 55.6 percent of its second-half shots, while holding the Saints to 34.4 percent over the final 20 minutes.  Led by Coleman and Julious, the FMU bench outscored the North Georgia reserves 40-16.

2-9-11 7:50 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 74, NORTH GEORGIA COLL. & STATE U. 67

NORTH GEORGIA COLL. & STATE U. (8-13 , 5-7 PBC)
Taylor, Carl 9-18 0-0 26; Smith, Elijah 8-14 2-3 18; Moynihan, Pat 3-4 0-0
8; Nolton, Jon 2-5 1-2 5; Tinney, Chaun 1-6 2-2 4; Goldsmith, Robby 1-5 1-1
3; Tillman, Clarence 1-7 0-0 3; Langston, Brody 0-6 0-0 0; Jackson, Marquez
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 6-8 67.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (14-7 , 7-6 PBC)
Turner, Liki 9-16 6-8 24; Coleman, Dominique 6-9 2-2 18; Julious, Bryant 5-7
6-6 17; Smith, Andrew 2-5 2-2 6; Turner, David 2-5 0-0 5; Boyd, Simel 1-7
0-0 2; Greenfield, Shawn 1-3 0-0 2; Todd, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Gary, Evrik 0-5
0-0 0. Totals 26-57 16-18 74.
Halftime: North Georgia 36 Francis Marion 27
3-point goals--North Georgia Coll. & State U. 11-25 (Taylor, Carl 8-16;
Moynihan, Pat 2-3; Tillman, Clarence 1-2; Goldsmith, Robby 0-4), Francis
Marion University 6-17 (Coleman, Dominique 4-6; Julious, Bryant 1-3; Turner,
David 1-3; Greenfield, Shawn 0-2; Gary, Evrik 0-2; Turner, Liki 0-1). Fouled
out--North Georgia Coll. & State U.-None, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--North Georgia Coll. & State U. 35 (Smith, Elijah 9), Francis
Marion University 36 (Turner, Liki 16). Assists--North Georgia Coll. & State
U. 15 (Tinney, Chaun 4), Francis Marion University 16 (Boyd, Simel 4). Total
fouls--North Georgia Coll. & State U. 18, Francis Marion University 14.
Technical fouls--None. A-798

Charges drawn: Coleman, L.Turner 2