Box Score ST. AUGUSTINE, FL -- Junior guard Evrik Gary poured in 31 points, his second consecutive 30-point outing, and Francis Marion University pulled away in the second half to claim an 84-69 road win over Flagler College, Wednesday night (Feb. 20) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.
The win evens Francis Marion's season mark at 11-11 and more importantly draws the Patriots to within one-half game of fourth-place Augusta State University in the PBC East Division standings. FMU, now 6-9 in conference play, will face the Jaguars on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Augusta, Ga.
FMU, which continues to lead the nation in three-pointers made per game, scorched the nets from long-range on Wednesday, hitting an even 50 percent (16-of-32).
Gary was 12-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. This followed a 35-point outing for the Camden native on Saturday against Young Harris College. His career total of 1,152 is four points shy of Lou Ziebell and 13th place on the FMU career scoring list.
Sophomore guard Clayton Williams followed Gary with 12 points and five assists, while junior guard Tyler Deihl added 11 points.
Center Ante Gospic led Flagler (11-13, 7-10) with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Richard Brown scored 16.
Francis Marion led for the majority of the opening half, but the Patriot lead was only one, 37-36, at halftime.
Over the final 20 minutes, FMU shot 63 percent, including 8-of-14 three-point attempts, while holding the Saints to 31 percent shooting.
A layup by Gospic gave the Saints a 43-42 lead early in the second stanza, but Gary drained a three-pointer and junior guard Chris Rhodes came up with a steal and layup to put the Patriots back on top 47-43.
Again the Saints rallied to take a one-point lead, this time at 50-49 on a Gospic dunk with 15:20 left in the contest. Gary again answered the bell as he scored on a jumper and a layup to ignite a 14-2 run that gave the Patriots the lead for good.
FMU led 68-58 with 9:48 remaining when Gary hit two free throws to start a 14-4 spurt that pushed the advantage to 20 points (82-62) with 2:42 left. Gary had eight points in that decisive seven-minute span.
Francis Marion committed only 10 turnovers and outrebounded the taller Saints 36-35.
2/20/13 7:30 p.m. at St. Augustine, Fla.
FRANCIS MARION 84, FLAGLER 69
FRANCIS MARION (11-11, 6-9 PBC)
Evrik Gary 12-17 2-2 31; Clayton Williams 4-9 2-2 12; Tyler Deihl 4-8 0-1
11; Robert Carpenter 3-6 0-0 9; Mi'kyel Nero 3-4 0-0 7; Dustin Jones 2-6 0-0
6; Antonio Freeman 1-3 2-6 4; Chris Rhodes 2-3 0-2 4; Sam Caron 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 31-56 6-13 84.
FLAGLER (11-13, 7-10 PBC)
Ante Gospic 7-12 4-9 18; Richard Brown 4-12 6-8 16; Jarrod Branco 4-6 0-0
11; Adam Jones 3-4 2-2 8; Matt Clark 2-13 2-5 8; Matt Conway 2-5 0-0 6;
Quayshad Williams 1-2 0-0 2; Ryan Barnes 0-3 0-0 0; Desmond Gibson 0-2 0-1
0. Totals 23-59 14-25 69.
Halftime: Francis Marion 37 Flagler 36
3-point goals--Francis Marion 16-32 (Evrik Gary 5-7; Robert Carpenter 3-5;
Tyler Deihl 3-7; Dustin Jones 2-5; Clayton Williams 2-6; Mi'kyel Nero 1-1;
Chris Rhodes 0-1), Flagler 9-30 (Jarrod Branco 3-5; Matt Clark 2-10; Richard
Brown 2-7; Matt Conway 2-4; Ryan Barnes 0-3; Adam Jones 0-1). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-Antonio Freeman, Flagler-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion
36 (Evrik Gary 9), Flagler 35 (Ante Gospic 12). Assists--Francis Marion 21
(Clayton Williams 5), Flagler 18 (Adam Jones 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion
24, Flagler 13. Technical fouls--Chris Rhodes. A-621
