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FLORENCE, SC – Georgia College held Francis Marion University to only 22 second-half points and a desperation three-pointer by Darryn Frazier was no good at the final horn as the Patriots lost a tough 56-54 Peach Belt Conference decision to the Bobcats, Friday evening (Jan. 20) in men's basketball action.

The Patriots fall to 9-7 overall and 5-4 in the PBC and see their three-game winning streak snapped.  Georgia College improves to 9-7 and 2-5 and ends its three-game skid.

FMU will play host to the College of Coastal Georgia in a non-conference match-up on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Senior forward Liki Turner led Francis Marion with 13 points, while junior forward Zamarius McLendon posted his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Sophomore guard Evrik Gary, who came into the contest averaging 25.5 points per game over his last four outings, was held to 10 points on only six field goal attempts.

Senior forward Ryan Aquino paced Georgia College with 25 points and eight rebounds.  Swingman Jared Holmes added 10 points.

The opening half featured five ties and five lead changes, but a three-pointer by Frazier with eight ticks left allowed the Patriots to carry a 32-27 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The Bobcats quickly erased that margin with five consecutive points to start the second stanza.  Georgia College would later lead by as many as five points at 45-40 on a free throw by Holmes, but five consecutive points by Gary knotted the contest at 45-45 with 7:35 remaining.

The game's 12th and final deadlock came at 52-52 following the first of two free throws by guard Ryan Lively with 1:10 left.  When he drained the second charity toss, the Bobcats led for good.

Francis Marion had a chance to tie the game at 54-54 with eight seconds left, but McLendon missed the second of a one-and-one free throw situation.  Following an FMU foul, GC point guard Aaron Robinson made two free throws to push the margin to 56-53.

On the ensuing trip down the floor, FMU point guard Marcus Wright was fouled with 2.5 seconds on the clock.  He made the first free throw and missed the second attempt intentionally and the ball went out of bounds to the Patriots with 1.5 ticks left on the clock.  On the inbounds pass, Frazier put up a heavily-contested, off-balance three-pointer from the left wing that missed its mark.

The Bobcats turned the ball over only seven times and led 18-2 in points-off-turnovers.   FMU made only 8-of-26 shots in the second half, including 2-of-9 from beyond the arc, allowing the Bobcats to come from behind.

1-20-12 7:50 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
GEORGIA COLLEGE 56, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 54

GEORGIA COLLEGE (9-7 , 2-5 PBC)
Ryan Aquino 10-20 4-6 25; Jared Holmes 3-15 4-6 10; Ryan Lively 2-5 2-2 7;
Scott Ferguson 3-8 1-2 7; Tarrence Chatman 1-4 1-2 3; Mike Augustine 1-2 0-0
2; Aaron Robinson 0-1 2-4 2; Lance Uwaifo 0-1 0-0 0; Joey Bell 0-1 0-0 0;
Royal Thomas 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 14-22 56.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (9-7 , 5-4 PBC)
Liki Turner 5-15 2-2 13; Evrik Gary 3-6 2-2 10; Zamarius McLendon 4-9 1-2
10; Marcus Wright 3-9 2-4 9; Darryn Frazier 3-7 0-0 8; Andrew Smith 2-4 0-0
4; Marcel Williams 0-1 0-2 0; Derek Hosey 0-2 0-0 0; Clayton Williams 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 20-53 7-12 54.
Halftime: Francis Marion 32 Georgia College 27
3-point goals--Georgia College 2-10 (Ryan Aquino 1-4; Ryan Lively 1-3; Mike
Augustine 0-1; Joey Bell 0-1; Jared Holmes 0-1), Francis Marion University
7-21 (Darryn Frazier 2-4; Evrik Gary 2-4; Liki Turner 1-3; Marcus Wright
1-6; Zamarius McLendon 1-3; Derek Hosey 0-1). Fouled out--Georgia
College-None, Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Georgia College 34
(Scott Ferguson 10), Francis Marion University 39 (Zamarius McLendon 11).
Assists--Georgia College 16 (Aaron Robinson 5), Francis Marion University 11
(Marcus Wright 5). Total fouls--Georgia College 13, Francis Marion
University 19. Technical fouls--None. A-537