Box Score GREENWOOD, SC – Junior guard Chris Rhodes dropped in a career-high equaling 24 points coming off the bench, but a 12-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome as Francis Marion University fell to Lander University 97-86 in the season finale for both squads, Saturday afternoon (Mar. 2) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.
FMU finishes the 2012-13 season with an overall record of 11-15 and a conference mark of 6-13.
Rhodes connected on 9-of-14 field goal attempts, including 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc. He also contributed in other ways by dishing out four assists and also recording three steals.
Also contributing for the Patriots was junior guard Evrik Gary who scored 17 points while shooting 8-9 from the free throw line. Gary contributed to his FMU career total which now stands at 1,228. FMU junior guard Dustin Jones scored 11 points, while Clayton Williams, Robert Carpenter, and Tyler Deihl each added nine points.
Lander senior David Pruett, who back on Feb. 9 in Florence missed crucial free throws that would have won or tied up the game against the Patriots, had a huge game on Saturday as he scored a career-high equaling 34 points, going 7-of-14 from behind the three-point arc.
Lander scored the opening two buckets and never trailed. The Patriots were able to get the deficit to one point (27-26) after an Alex Tucker jumper with 6:48 left before halftime. The Bearcats would expand their advantage to 43-31 and led 47-35 at halftime after Pruett scored on a jumper in the final minute. He had 19 points in the first half as the Bearcats connected on 18-of-26 shots (69.2%) over the first 20 minutes.
A three-pointer by Jones with 12 minutes to go in the second half enable the Patriots to trim the margin to 71-64. A fast-break layup by Rhodes again trimmed the lead to seven, 75-68, with 9:38 left. Lander responded by scoring 16 consecutive points over a 4:20 span as the Patriots missed six straight shots and committed five turnovers. The spurt gave the Bearcats a 91-68 lead.
A three-pointer by Diehl with one minute to go made it a 12-point Bearcat lead, but that was the closest FMU would get.
Francis Marion finished the game at 45.5 percent shooting, including 13-of-35 from behind the three-point arc. The Patriots set team season records for three-pointers made (358) and attempted (981) and finished only two shy of the Peach Belt single-season record (360) for three-pointers made.
FMU forced 25 Lander turnovers and led 25-16 in points off turnovers.
3/2/13 3:30 p.m. at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
LANDER UNIVERSITY 97, FRANCIS MARION UNIV. 86
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. (11-15, 6-13 PBC)
Chris Rhodes 9-14 3-5 24; Evrik Gary 4-12 8-9 17; Dustin Jones 4-8 0-0 11;
Robert Carpenter 4-9 0-0 9; Clayton Williams 3-8 1-2 9; Tyler Deihl 3-7 0-0
9; Alex Tucker 2-3 0-0 4; Antonio Freeman 1-4 1-2 3; Storm Clonch 0-0 0-1 0;
Sam Caron 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-66 13-19 86.
LANDER UNIVERSITY (9-17, 4-15 PBC)
David Pruett 12-21 3-5 34; Jareal Smith 7-12 7-8 24; Scott Elder 3-8 5-7 11;
Dermaine Smith 5-9 0-1 10; Chidozie Omile 4-6 0-1 8; Carlos Trotty 2-4 1-2
6; Darius Carrier 2-3 0-0 4; Stefan Tabasevic 0-0 0-0 0; Jamal Branco 0-1
0-0 0; Mario Pendarvis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-65 16-24 97.
Halftime: Lander 47 Francis Marion 35
3-point goals--Francis Marion Univ. 13-35 (Tyler Deihl 3-6; Dustin Jones
3-6; Chris Rhodes 3-5; Clayton Williams 2-7; Robert Carpenter 1-6; Evrik
Gary 1-4; Sam Caron 0-1), Lander University 11-25 (David Pruett 7-14; Jareal
Smith 3-6; Carlos Trotty 1-2; Chidozie Omile 0-2; Dermaine Smith 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion Univ.-Clayton Williams; Dustin Jones, Lander
University-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion Univ. 24 (Antonio Freeman 7),
Lander University 53 (Scott Elder 12). Assists--Francis Marion Univ. 16
(Evrik Gary 5), Lander University 20 (Dermaine Smith 5; Jareal Smith 5;
Carlos Trotty 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion Univ. 20, Lander University
19. Technical fouls--None. A-1500
