Box Score FLORENCE, SC – Junior 6-10 center Clark Major led four players in double figures with 14 points as Francis Marion University claimed a 72-49 season-opening win over Virginia University of Lynchburg, Thursday night (Nov. 14) in non-conference men's basketball action.
The Patriots improve to 1-0 while winning their sixth season opener in eight years under head coach Gary Edwards. FMU will return to action Nov. 22-23 at the Lees-McRae Classic in Banner Elk, N.C. Francis Marion will face the host school on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. and the North Greenville University on Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.
Following Major were senior guards Evrik Gary and Tyler Deihl with 12 points apiece and junior swingman Dustin Jones with 10 points. Gary led FMU with eight rebounds, while both Deihl and Jones handed out five assists each. Gary upped his career points total to 1,240 which stands 13th on the Patriot all-time list.
Guard Lay McPhaul led the Dragons (3-4) with 13 points and six assists. Forward Dennis Gravely chipped in 10 points.
Francis Marion, which led NCAA Division II in three-pointers made per game last season, connected on 11-of-28 long range attempts in the opener. Conversely, Virginia Lynchburg was only 1-of-6 from behind the arc.
FMU scored the game's first 14 points and never trailed, while Virginia Lynchburg missed its first 11 field goal attempts and was held scoreless for the opening 7:57. The Patriots led by as many as 21 points – on two occasions – before leaving for the locker room at halftime holding a 34-17 advantage, much to the delight of the RIOT at the Rim crowd of 1,089.
The Dragons opened the second stanza with a 14-7 spurt that cut the deficit to 41-31 following a lay-up by Courtney Wynn with 13:31 left. The margin was 12 points (49-37) at the midway point of the half, but FMU gradually started to pull away. An inside hoop by Major capped an 11-5 run that put the Patriots ahead 60-42 with 6:12 on the clock. The final score was the largest margin of the contest.
Francis Marion outrebounded the Dragons 45-34 and held a 13-7 advantage in second-chance points.
11-14-13 7:50 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 72, VIRGINIA UNIV. OF LYNCHBURG 49
VIRGINIA UNIV. OF LYNCHBURG (3-4)
Lay McPhaul 5-11 2-2 13; Dennis Gravely 5-12 0-2 10; Jan Zornjan 3-10 2-2 8;
Courtney Wynn 3-6 0-0 6; Chris Calvin 2-3 2-4 6; Irving "Irv" Cato 1-6 1-2
3; Teondre Bromell 1-7 1-4 3; J.R. Kuon 0-2 0-0 0; Linwood Vaughan Jr. 0-0
0-0 0; Beka Zedelashvili 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 8-16 49.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (1-0)
Clark Major 5-8 4-8 14; Tyler Deihl 4-7 0-2 12; Evrik Gary 3-7 4-5 12;
Dustin Jones 3-10 2-2 10; Robert Carpenter 3-8 0-0 8; Mykel Harris 2-5 4-8
8; Luka Zivkovic 2-7 0-2 5; Lepreece Lynch 0-1 2-2 2; Trevonte Dixon 0-2 1-2
1; Sam Caron 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 17-31 72.
Halftime: Francis Marion 34 Virginia Lynchburg 17
3-point goals--Virginia Univ. of Lynchburg 1-6 (Lay McPhaul 1-3; Courtney
Wynn 0-1; Irving "Irv" Cato 0-1; J.R. Kuon 0-1), Francis Marion University
11-28 (Tyler Deihl 4-6; Dustin Jones 2-8; Evrik Gary 2-2; Robert Carpenter
2-7; Luka Zivkovic 1-3; Lepreece Lynch 0-1; Mykel Harris 0-1). Fouled
out--Virginia Univ. of Lynchburg-Courtney Wynn; Teondre Bromell; Jan
Zornjan, Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Virginia Univ. of
Lynchburg 34 (Jan Zornjan 7), Francis Marion University 45 (Evrik Gary 8).
Assists--Virginia Univ. of Lynchburg 12 (Lay McPhaul 6), Francis Marion
University 16 (Dustin Jones 5; Tyler Deihl 5). Total fouls--Virginia Univ.
of Lynchburg 29, Francis Marion 20. Technical fouls--None. A-1089
