MORROW, GA – Junior guard Tyler Deihl accounted for nine points in a 14-0 Francis Marion University run midway through the second half as the Patriots claimed a 70-61 Peach Belt Conference road victory over Clayton State University, Monday night (Jan. 21) in men's basketball action.

Francis Marion (6-8, 2-6) rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to record its first win on the Lakers' home court since 2004 and only its second ever road win in Morrow since Clayton State joined the Peach Belt in 1997.

The Patriots will end a three-game PBC road trip by playing at USC Aiken on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

Deihl paced the Patriots with 14 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, while only committing two turnovers in 34 minutes.  It was his third consecutive game scoring in double digits and followed his career-high 17-point effort at the University of Montevallo on Saturday.

Junior Evrik Gary and sophomore Clayton Williams each tallied 13 points, while sophomore Dustin Jones scored 12 and junior Antonio Freeman 10.  Gary hauled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Williams handed out four assists.

Junior Robert Carpenter came off the FMU bench to account for the team's other eight points as the five starters totaled 62.

Guard Tony Dukes led Clayton State (7-9, 3-6) with 17 points as four Lakers scored in double figures.

A trio of three-pointers staked FMU to an early 11-3 lead.  A three-pointer by Carpenter extended the margin to 26-17 with 8:18 left in the opening half, but Clayton State answered with nine straight points to knot the score.

After Clayton State led by as many as four points late in the stanza, FMU rallied to tie the game at 41-41.  However, the Lakers' Omari Murray dropped in a lay-up just before the halftime horn to give Clayton State a 43-41 advantage.

After four deadlocks early in the second half, Clayton State took a 53-51 lead near the midway point.  Carpenter dropped in a pair of free throws to tie the score at 53-53 and thus began the Patriots' decisive 14-0 run.

Williams followed with a three-pointer and Deihl then scored nine straight points – on three free throws and a pair of three-pointers – to put Francis Marion ahead 65-53.  All told, FMU held the Lakers scoreless for nearly seven minutes.

FMU then went cold from the floor, going six-and-a-half minutes without a point and allowing the Lakers to pull to within 65-61 on a Dukes' three-pointer from the right corner with 1:31 left.  On the ensuing possession, Carpenter sealed the win as he beat an expiring shot clock with a three-pointer that stretched the margin back to 68-61.  Gary completed the scoring with 10 seconds left as he canned two free throws.

FMU rallied from an early deficit to deadlock the rebounding total at 33-33 and the Patriots led 17-8 in second-chance points.

Leading Division II in three-pointers made per game, the Patriots hit 15-of-40 on Monday.  FMU was also 9-of-10 from the foul line.

After seeing Clayton State shoot 57.7 percent from the floor in the first half, Francis Marion held the Lakers to 34.8 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes and to a total of only 18 points.