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GREENWOOD, SC – Francis Marion University enjoyed an eight-point lead at halftime, but the second half did not prove as enjoyable as Lander University rallied to claim an 83-71 win over the Patriots, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

FMU drops to 13-9 overall and 7-6 in the PBC.  The Patriots play host to Allen University for a non-conference affair on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Patriots were paced by junior forward Zamarius McLendon with a career-high tying 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds.  Junior swingman Darryn Frazier came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, while senior Liki Turner and sophomore Evrik Gary added 12 points each.  Frazier was 5-of-8 from behind the three-point arc.

After being held to just three points in the opening stanza, Dwight Tolbert erupted for 24 second-half points to rally the Bearcats before a Homecoming crowd of 2,250 fans in Horne Arena.  Lander improves to 13-7 overall and 6-6 in PBC.  Tolbert also hauled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Bearcat point guard Corey Wright dished off 16 assists, only four shy of the Lander school record set by Bobby Shaw during the 1978-79 season.

The Patriots shot 55.2 percent, including 6-of-11 on three-point attempts over the opening 20 minutes en route to a 40-32 lead at intermission.  In comparison, FMU held Lander to 32.3 percent shooting.  Francis Marion trailed on only one occasion in the first stanza (at 5-3) and led by as many as 10 points.

However, the second 20 minutes were not as kind to the Patriots.  Lander opened the second half with an 11-2 run to take a 43-42 advantage. The run eventually reached 27-9 as the Bearcats took a 10-point advantage at 59-49 with 12:19 remaining.

FMU cut the lead to 63-57 at the 8:36 mark on a McLendon fast-break layup, but the Bearcats used a pair of Tolbert threes and a David Pruett layup to increase their margin to 14 points, 71-57, with 7:06 left to play.

In the second half, FMU cooled to 31.3 percent shooting and the Patriots committed 10 turnovers.  Lander shot 52.9 percent over the final 20 minutes, including 6-of-13 three-point attempts.

For the game, Lander outrebounded the Patriots 48-35.

2-4-12 3:30 pm at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
LANDER UNIVERSITY 83, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 71

FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (13-9, 7-6 PBC)
Zamarius McLendon 7-14 2-4 18; Darryn Frazier 6-9 0-0 17; Evrik Gary 4-12
2-3 12; Liki Turner 3-8 6-7 12; Andrew Smith 2-6 0-0 4; Marcus Wright 2-6
0-0 4; Marcel Williams 2-3 0-2 4; Clayton Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Derek Hosey
0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 10-16 71.
LANDER UNIVERSITY (13-7, 6-6 PBC)
Dwight Tolbert 9-16 4-10 27; David Pruett 8-18 2-2 22; Darion Canty 4-9 4-4
12; Jermel Kennedy 4-5 1-1 9; Dennis Rumph 3-4 2-5 8; Corey Wright 0-10 4-7
4; Darius Carrier 0-3 1-2 1; Cody Waterworth 0-0 0-0 0; Mac Mitchell 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 28-65 18-31 83.
Halftime: Francis Marion 40 Lander 32
3-point goals--Francis Marion University 9-28 (Darryn Frazier 5-8; Evrik
Gary 2-10; Zamarius McLendon 2-6; Marcus Wright 0-2; Derek Hosey 0-1; Liki
Turner 0-1), Lander University 9-25 (Dwight Tolbert 5-8; David Pruett 4-14;
Corey Wright 0-3). Fouled out--Francis Marion University-None, Lander
University-Jermel Kennedy. Rebounds--Francis Marion University 35 (Zamarius
McLendon 9), Lander University 48 (Dwight Tolbert 12). Assists--Francis
Marion University 11 (Evrik Gary 5), Lander University 22 (Corey Wright 16).
Total fouls--Francis Marion University 22, Lander University 19. Technical
fouls—FMU bench. A-2250