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FLORENCE, SC – Senior forward Liki Turner scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his final home game and six Francis Marion University players scored in double figures as the Patriots cruised past Armstrong Atlantic State University 114-106, Monday evening (Feb. 20) in Peach Belt Conference men's play.

Francis Marion (16-11, 9-8) eclipses the century mark for second straight conference game and keeps it PBC Tournament hopes alive.  The Patriots need a win on Wednesday at 23rd-ranked USC Aiken in FMU's regular-season finale, while Lander University must lose its final two contests (on Wednesday and Saturday).

After being honor prior to tip-off four FMU seniors combined for 59 points and 17 rebounds. Following Turner was junior forward Zamarius McLendon with a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds.  Senior point guard Marcus Wright tallied 17 points and six assists, while sophomore guard Evrik Gary also scored 17, grabbed seven rebounds, and handed out five assists. 

Senior 6-10 center Andrew Smith registered 12 and junior swingman Darryn Frazier came off the bench to score 12 points.  Senior reserve forward Marcel Williams added eight points and five assists.

Guard Mychal Horn led Armstrong (10-15, 6-11) with 30 points, 20 of which came after halftime, and swingman Chris Vanlandingham scored 27 points.  The two also distributed the ball as Horn tallied nine assists and Vanlandingham eight. 

A three-pointer by Turner opened the scoring and Francis Marion never trailed.  FMU connected on its first four shots and the margin quickly grew to double digits at 20-10.  A 15-2 spurt by the Patriots late in the opening stanza pushed the advantage to 25 points at 52-27 following a tip-in by McLendon with 4:16 left before intermission. 

FMU led 62-38 at halftime after shooting 61.1 percent from the field, including 9-of-14 from behind the three-point arc.

Interestingly, FMU trailed 60-48 at halftime in the earlier meeting between the two squads in Savannah and then rallied to win.  The Pirates nearly turned the tables on Monday.  Armstrong shot 61.4 percent in the second half and got to within six points on several occasions.

The 24-point halftime margin was cut to 11 with a 17-4 Pirate run to open the stanza.  Francis Marion withstood that rally and after Turner drained another three-pointer with 11:46 left, the Patriots led 80-64.  Again Armstrong looked to make a comeback and a three-pointer by Grant Domsic – his fifth of the half – cut the deficit to 95-89 with more than four minutes remaining.

A layup by Turner and a three-point play by McLendon gave FMU an insurmountable 103-92 lead with just under three minutes left and free throw shooting by the Patriots held off any further Pirate attacks.

For the game, Francis Marion was 25-of-29 at the free throw line.  FMU also held a commanding 42-28 rebounding advantage, including a 17-6 lead in second-0chance points.

FMU finished the game shooting 55.9 percent, including 13-of-22 from long-range, while Armstrong shot 50.6 percentage and 10-of-29 from beyond the arc.

The combined 220 points were 10 shy of the FMU single-game record of 230.  It marks the first time the Patriots have reached the century mark in consecutive PBC contests.  The only previous time for FMU to score 100 points in back-to-back games came in 1979 with 107-75 and 112-89 wins, both against Friendship College.

2-20-12 7:50 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 114, ARMSTRONG 106

ARMSTRONG (10-15, 6-11 PBC)
Mychal Horn 12-25 2-2 30; Chris Vanlandingham 8-15 11-12 27; Grant Domsic
5-9 0-0 15; DeVon Jones 7-16 0-0 14; Keyshore Williams 3-5 2-3 8; Aric
Miller 2-6 1-2 6; J.C. Winn 2-2 0-0 4; Stephen Davis 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 40-79
16-19 106.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (16-11, 9-8 PBC)
Liki Turner 7-13 4-4 22; Zamarius McLendon 7-11 6-8 20; Evrik Gary 5-7 4-4
17; Marcus Wright 5-7 4-6 17; Andrew Smith 5-11 2-2 12; Darryn Frazier 4-11
2-2 12; Marcel Williams 3-6 2-2 8; Clayton Williams 2-2 1-1 6; Maurice Grant
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-68 25-29 114.
Halftime: Francis Marion 62 Armstrong 38
3-point goals--Armstrong 10-29 (Grant Domsic 5-9; Mychal Horn 4-13; Aric
Miller 1-2; Keyshore Williams 0-2; DeVon Jones 0-1; Chris Vanlandingham
0-2), Francis Marion University 13-22 (Liki Turner 4-4; Evrik Gary 3-4;
Marcus Wright 3-5; Darryn Frazier 2-6; Clayton Williams 1-1; Marcel Williams
0-1; Andrew Smith 0-1). Fouled out--Armstrong-Grant Domsic, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds--Armstrong 28 (DeVon Jones 8), Francis Marion
University 42 (Zamarius McLendon 7; Evrik Gary 7; Liki Turner 7).
Assists--Armstrong 31 (Mychal Horn 9), Francis Marion University 29 (Marcus
Wright 6). Total fouls--Armstrong 21, Francis Marion University 18.
Technical fouls--None. A-295