Box Score PEMBROKE, NC – A pair of turnovers in the final 10 seconds denied Francis Marion University a possible tying or winning shot as the Patriots dropped a hard-fought 68-66 road decision to UNC Pembroke, Thursday night (Jan. 30) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.
Trailing 67-66, FMU junior guard Trevonte Dixon was called for a charging foul in the lane with seven seconds remaining. Following another Patriot foul, UNCP's Alex Bradley made one of two free throws to extend the margin to 68-66 with 5.4 ticks left. On the ensuing possession, the Patriots' Evrik Gary was stripped from behind as he looked for the tying or winning basket a second before the final horn sounded.
Francis Marion falls to 7-10 overall and 4-7 in the PBC. The Patriots remain in fourth place in the East Division standings, but only a half-game ahead of UNCP (13-9, 4-8).
FMU will play at Flagler College on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. before returning home to host the same UNCP on Feb. 6.
Junior Dustin Jones led Francis Marion with 23 points, including 6-of-13 three-point shooting. Gary added 17 points, including 5-of-7 three-point shooting, and handed out six assists. Gary pushed his career point total to 1,563, four shy of Terance Wood and fourth place on the Patriot career scoring list.
Sophomore center Mykel Harris tallied seven points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Patriots.
Bradley led the Braves with 16 points coming off the bench, while forward Brandon Winford recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The tightly played contest featured 15 ties and 17 lead changes. The largest lead for either squad was four points.
The score was knotted 32-32 at halftime. A lay-up by FMU's 6-10 center Clark Major again tied the score at 58-58 with 5:54 left. A three-point play by Dixon gave Francis Marion its final lead at 66-65 with 1:18 on the clock. However, a baseline jumper by Ben Jacobs pushed UNCP back on top, 67-66, with just under a minute remaining.
Gary missed a contested jumper from 10 feet out on the ensuing possession, but UNCP turned the ball over setting the stage for Dixon's offensive foul.
FMU shot 38.3 percent from the floor and 9-of-16 at the foul line, while the Braves posted shooting marks of 42.4 percent from the field and 10-of-15 at the stripe. Other than Jones and Gary, the remaining Patriots were 0-for-11 from three-point range.
1-30-14 7:30 p.m. at Pembroke, N.C. / English E. Jones Center
UNC PEMBROKE 68, FRANCIS MARION 66
FRANCIS MARION (7-10, 4-7)
Dustin Jones 8-17 1-2 23; Evrik Gary 6-13 0-0 17; Robert Carpenter 3-7 1-1
7; Clark Major 3-4 1-4 7; Mykel Harris 1-7 5-7 7; Trevonte Dixon 2-6 1-2 5;
Luka Zivkovic 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 23-60 9-16 66.
UNC PEMBROKE (13-9, 4-8)
Alex Bradley 5-7 2-4 16; Brandon Winford 4-8 5-6 13; Griffin Pittman 3-7 1-2
10; Jihad Wright 3-6 2-2 8; Chris Lindsay 3-5 0-0 6; Keysheen Hinton 2-6 0-0
5; Quamain Rose 2-11 0-0 4; Ben Jacobs 2-3 0-0 4; Reggie Cobia 1-6 0-1 2.
Totals 25-59 10-15 68.
Halftime: 32-32
3-point goals--Francis Marion 11-31 (Dustin Jones 6-13; Evrik Gary 5-7;
Mykel Harris 0-1; Trevonte Dixon 0-3; Luka Zivkovic 0-5; Robert Carpenter
0-2), UNC Pembroke 8-18 (Alex Bradley 4-5; Griffin Pittman 3-5; Keysheen
Hinton 1-2; Quamain Rose 0-5; Jihad Wright 0-1). Fouled out--Francis
Marion-None, UNC Pembroke-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 33 (Mykel Harris
7), UNC Pembroke 43 (Brandon Winford 11). Assists--Francis Marion 15 (Evrik
Gary 6), UNC Pembroke 18 (Griffin Pittman 7). Total fouls--Francis Marion
16, UNC Pembroke 14. Technical fouls--Francis Marion-TEAM. A-1751
