Box Score AIKEN, SC – After a nip-and-tuck first 20 minutes, USC Aiken used an 11-0 spurt early in the second stanza to pull away and take a 100-82 Peach Belt Conference victory over Francis Marion University, Saturday night (Jan. 26) in men's basketball action.
Francis Marion (6-9, 2-7) will step out of conference play to host Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Smith University Center.
Junior Evrik Gary and sophomore Dustin Jones each tallied 21 points for Francis Marion. Jones scored 18 of his points in the opening half, while Gary had 18 in the second stanza. Gary also led FMU with eight rebounds, while pushing his career point total to 999.
Junior Tyler Deihl scored 15 points for FMU on 5-of-9 shooting from behind the three-point arc, while junior point guard Chris Rhodes added 11 points and six assists off the bench.
The Patriot exceeded their Division II leading average of 13.9 three-pointers made per game by hitting 14-of-30 from deep.
Jesse Seilern led five Pacers in double figures with 21 points as USCA improved to 12-5 and 8-2.
Francis Marion hit its first four field goal attempts of the contest to take an early 11-6 lead. The first 20 minutes featured seven ties and only a jumper by Re'mon Nelson in the final minute allowed USCA to leave for the locker room at halftime holding a 42-41 advantage.
Deihl's second three-pointer of the second half brought FMU to within 49-47 with 17:05 remaining. USCA then scored the game's next 11 points to extend its advantage to 60-47. After a three-point play by Gary cut the deficit to 60-50, the Pacers scored eight straight to further enlarge their lead to 68-50.
Near the midway point of the half, USCA led 72-55, but Francis Marion rallied to within 11 points, 76-65, after a lay in by Gary with 7:29 left. A three-pointer by Rhodes again brought the Patriots to within 11 at 83-72 with 4:32 on the clock, but that would be as close as FMU would get.
USCA scored 58 second-half points as the Pacers shot 58.1 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.
For the game, Francis Marion shot 46 percent from the floor and 10-of-11 at the foul line. FMU hit 10-of-17 three-point shots in the first half, but managed only 4-of-13 after halftime.
1/26/13 7:30 PM at Aiken, SC (Convocation Center)
USC AIKEN 100, FRANCIS MARION UNIV. 82
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. (6-9, 2-7 PBC)
Evrik Gary 8-14 3-3 21; Dustin Jones 8-15 1-1 21; Tyler Deihl 5-10 0-0 15;
Chris Rhodes 3-9 4-4 11; Robert Carpenter 3-7 0-0 8; Clayton Williams 1-6
1-1 3; Antonio Freeman 1-2 1-2 3; Alex Tucker 0-0 0-0 0; Sam Caron 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 29-63 10-11 82.
USC AIKEN (12-5, 8-2 PBC)
Jesse Seilern 6-12 6-7 21; Ronald Zimmerman 6-10 0-0 18; Re'mon Nelson 6-10
3-3 17; Kinley Branch 6-9 1-1 16; DeVontae Wright 6-11 3-3 15; Paul Larsen
3-5 3-5 9; Santoine Butler 0-2 2-4 2; Shane Porchea 1-1 0-0 2; Victor Bowden
0-0 0-0 0; Derrick Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 18-23 100.
Halftime: USCA 42 Francis Marion 41
3-point goals--Francis Marion Univ. 14-30 (Tyler Deihl 5-9; Dustin Jones
4-7; Evrik Gary 2-4; Robert Carpenter 2-5; Chris Rhodes 1-2; Clayton
Williams 0-3), USC Aiken 14-27 (Ronald Zimmerman 6-10; Kinley Branch 3-5;
Jesse Seilern 3-5; Re'mon Nelson 2-4; DeVontae Wright 0-3). Fouled
out--Francis Marion Univ.-None, USC Aiken-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion
Univ. 29 (Evrik Gary 8), USC Aiken 34 (Paul Larsen 10). Assists--Francis
Marion Univ. 16 (Chris Rhodes 6), USC Aiken 22 (DeVontae Wright 9). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 22, USC Aiken 14. Technical fouls--None. A-1479
