FLORENCE, SC  – Senior Mi'kyel Nero and junior Robert Carpenter both posted career-high point totals of 23, and junior Evrik Gary added 22, but it was not enough to lift Francis Marion University to a victory Monday evening (Feb. 25) as the Patriots fell to Armstrong Atlantic State University 94-88 in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

The game was originally scheduled for January 17, but postponed when a leak in the Smith University Center roof made the court unplayable.

Francis Marion (11-13, 6-11) will hold Senior Night on Wednesday as the Patriots entertain UNC Pembroke at 7:30 p.m. in the team's final home appearance of 2013.

Nero, whose previous career-high was 12, connected on 8-of-10 shots, including all three of his three-point attempts, in only 21 minutes of action.  Carpenter was 8-of-16, with four three-pointers, and also grabbed six rebounds coming off the FMU bench.

Gary was 11-of-11 at the free throw line equaling the second-best single-game effort in team history.  Joe Thompson owns the team mark of 14-of-14 during a 1981 contest against Presbyterian College. Gary also grabbed six rebounds and during the game upped his career point total to 1,189.

Senior guard Aric Miller led Armstrong (14-11, 10-8) with 37 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Senior 6-7 forward Antroine Williford tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds, while senior 6-5 forward J.C. Winn scored 18 points.

The Pirates led by as many as nine on two occasions in the opening half, the final time at 26-17.  FMU gradually clawed its way back into the game and eventually knotted the score at 32-32 on a jump shot by Nero with 54 seconds left in the half.  Another Nero basket from the top of the key tied the game at 35-35 as both squads exited the floor at halftime.

Three-pointers by Clayton Williams and Dustin Jones helped Francis Marion open a 41-37 lead early in the second stanza.  Armstrong responded with an 11-0 run that put the Pirates ahead 48-41.

A three-pointer from the right corner by FMU sophomore swingman Sam Caron again tied the proceedings, this time at 62-62 with 7:19 remaining in the contest.  However, Miller quickly answered with a three-pointer of his own to ignite a 17-3 Pirate spurt.  Miller scored 11 of the 17 points.

A dunk by Winn gave Armstrong its largest lead at 81-65 with 4:19 left, and with 2:26 on the clock, the margin stood at 15 points (87-72).  Francis Marion did manage a furious last minute rally that trimmed the deficit to five (93-88) after a Nero three-pointer with 20 ticks on the clock.

Williford accounted for the final Armstrong point at the free throw line with 11 seconds remaining.

Armstrong held a commanding 56-35 rebounding advantage, but both teams registered 20 second-chance points.  FMU forced 17 Pirates miscues and led 23-15 in points-off-turnovers.

The Pirates connected on 64.7 percent of their field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes and ended the game at 48 percent, while Francis Marion shot 38.4 percent for the game, including 14-of-39 from beyond the three-point arc.

As a team, FMU was a near-perfect 18-of-20 at the charity stripe.

2/25/13 6:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC ST. UNIV. 94, FRANCIS MARION UNIV. 88

ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC ST. UNIV. (14-11 ,10-8 PBC)
Aric Miller 11-22 12-13 37; J.C. Winn 9-13 0-1 18; Antroine Williford 7-14
2-4 18; Kyle Callanan 4-7 0-0 9; Kelcey Walker 2-5 1-2 5; Kenny Bellinger II
2-8 0-3 4; Eric Eversley 1-4 1-4 3; Darius Morales 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 36-75
16-27 94.
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. (11-13 , 6-11 PBC)
Mi'kyel Nero 8-10 4-4 23; Robert Carpenter 8-16 3-5 23; Evrik Gary 4-15
11-11 22; Dustin Jones 2-10 0-0 6; Chris Rhodes 3-5 0-0 6; Clayton Williams
2-8 0-0 5; Sam Caron 1-1 0-0 3; Antonio Freeman 0-3 0-0 0; Storm Clonch 0-0
0-0 0; Tyler Deihl 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 28-73 18-20 88.
Halftime: 35-35
3-point goals--Armstrong Atlantic St. Univ. 6-16 (Aric Miller 3-5; Antroine
Williford 2-5; Kyle Callanan 1-3; Kenny Bellinger II 0-2; Kelcey Walker
0-1), Francis Marion Univ. 14-39 (Robert Carpenter 4-9; Mi'kyel Nero 3-3;
Evrik Gary 3-11; Dustin Jones 2-8; Clayton Williams 1-3; Sam Caron 1-1;
Tyler Deihl 0-4). Fouled out--Armstrong Atlantic St. Univ.-Darius Morales,
Francis Marion Univ.-Clayton Williams. Rebounds--Armstrong Atlantic St.
Univ. 56 (Antroine Williford 13), Francis Marion Univ. 35 (Evrik Gary 6;
Robert Carpenter 6). Assists--Armstrong Atlantic St. Univ. 16 (Kenny
Bellinger II 6; Aric Miller 6), Francis Marion Univ. 16 (Tyler Deihl 6).
Total fouls--Armstrong Atlantic St. Univ. 18, Francis Marion Univ. 20.
Technical fouls--Mi'kyel Nero. A-500