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FLORENCE, S.C.- Senior forward Liki Turner and sophomore guard Evrik Gary combined for 36 points and the Francis Marion University defense held the University of Montevallo well under its season scoring average as the Patriots claimed a hard-fought 60-49 win, Monday evening (Jan. 9) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion salvaged the finale of a three-game home stand to start the new year and improved to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in the PBC.  The Patriots held the Falcons, who entered the game scoring 80.1 points per game, to only 30.6 percent shooting, including 4-of-24 from beyond the three-point arc.

Turner tallied 20 points, including an 8-of-9 night at the charity stripe, while Gary registered 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Senior 6-10 center Andrew Smith chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots.

Senior guard D.J. Rivera led Montevallo (12-3, 3-1) with 19 points on 8-of-24 shooting.  He was 1-of-10 from the free throw line, where as a team the Falcons were just 7-of-19.  Rivera entered the game as the third-leading scorer in Division II with a 24.5 points per game average.

Rivera scored the game's opening six points and Montevallo forged an early 10-0 advantage as FMU missed its first three shots and committed seven turnovers in the opening five minutes.  However, FMU responded by outscoring the Falcons 26-10 over the final 15 minutes of the stanza to lead 26-20 at intermission.

A three-pointer by Turner gave Francis Marion the lead for good at 19-18.

FMU opened the second half with a 14-5 spurt to take its largest lead of the contest at 40-25 following a technical free throw by Gary with 10:11 left.  Montevallo answered with eight straight points to pull to within 40-33 with eight minutes remaining.  Rivera, who had been held scoreless since the game's opening run, scored two buckets during the spurt.

A jumper by Gary and a three-pointer by Turner quickly extended the margin back to double-digits at 45-33 with 7:14 on the clock.  A jump shot by Rivera trimmed the Falcons' deficit to six at 47-41 with 3:17 left, but FMU hit eight consecutive free throws over the next two minutes to pull away.

In contrast to the Falcons, Francis Marion was 23-of-31 at the foul line.  The Patriots shot slightly better than Montevallo from the field at 34 percent. The Patriot reserves also played a role, outscoring the Montevallo bench 12-4.

Francis Marion will its next two contests on the road, at Flagler College on Wednesday night and at North Georgia College & State University on next Monday evening.

1-9-12 8 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 60, UNIV. OF MONTEVALLO 49

UNIV. OF MONTEVALLO (12-3 , 3-1 PBC)
DJ Rivera 8-24 1-10 19; Jonas Brown 6-13 0-1 14; Jeff Hefner 2-3 5-7 9;
DeMarcus Catchings 1-3 1-1 3; Jervan Jackson 1-2 0-0 2; Drico Hightower 1-5
0-0 2; Marvin Fitzgerald 0-4 0-0 0; Chauncey Thompson 0-1 0-0 0; Ryan May
0-5 0-0 0; Danny Cummins 0-0 0-0 0; Travis DeShazior 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-62
7-19 49.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (7-6 , 3-3 PBC)
Liki Turner 5-12 8-9 20; Evrik Gary 5-13 4-6 16; Andrew Smith 3-7 4-4 10;
Darryn Frazier 1-2 2-2 5; Marcel Williams 0-1 3-5 3; Zamarius McLendon 1-4
0-1 2; Derek Hosey 0-3 2-4 2; Clayton Williams 1-1 0-0 2; Marcus Wright 0-4
0-0 0. Totals 16-47 23-31 60.
Halftime: Francis Marion 26 Montevallo 20
3-point goals--Univ. of Montevallo 4-24 (DJ Rivera 2-9; Jonas Brown 2-7;
Chauncey Thompson 0-1; Ryan May 0-5; Travis DeShazior 0-2), Francis Marion
University 5-20 (Liki Turner 2-5; Evrik Gary 2-7; Darryn Frazier 1-2;
Zamarius McLendon 0-1; Derek Hosey 0-2; Marcus Wright 0-3). Fouled
out--Univ. of Montevallo-Marvin Fitzgerald; Jonas Brown, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds--Univ. of Montevallo 37 (Jeff Hefner 6), Francis
Marion University 40 (Evrik Gary 8). Assists--Univ. of Montevallo 15 (Travis
DeShazior 7), Francis Marion University 8 (Liki Turner 2; Marcel Williams 2;
Derek Hosey 2). Total fouls--Univ. of Montevallo 28, Francis Marion
University 17. Technical fouls--Hightower. A-475