Box Score SALISBURY, NC – Catawba College pulled away over the final 10 minutes of the game to claim an 86-72 decision over Francis Marion University, Friday night (Nov. 14) in the Peach Belt Conference-South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Challenge. The loss means that FMU head coach Gary Edwards will have to wait at least another day to capture his 500th career victory.
Francis Marion (0-1) will face Lenoir-Rhyne University (0-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. on the final day of the challenge. The Bears dropped a 98-90 double overtime decision to UNC Pembroke in Friday's opener.
Red-shirt freshman Detrek Browning led Francis Marion with 18 points, nine rebounds, and two assists, while junior swingman Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Freshman 6-6 forward Jay Alexander posted a true double-double in his first collegiate contest with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Kijuan Arrington led Catawba (1-0) with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Catawba scored the game's first 13 points as FMU missed it first six shots of the 2014-15 campaign. The Patriots quickly recovered and rallied to take an 18-17 lead following a layup by senior Luke Zivkovic with 7:25 left before halftime. A fast-break bucket by freshman A.J. Jackson extended the Francis Marion advantage to 28-26, but Catawba closed the half on a 10-5 spurt to take a 36-33 halftime lead.
The Indians extended their lead to 44-35 early in the second stanza, but back-to-back layups by junior forward David Jerome capped an 11-0 FMU run that put the Patriots on top 46-44 with 16:02 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Browning gave FMU a four-point advantage (50-46) with 14:58 left, but Catawba responded with a 15-5 spurt that put the home-standing Indians ahead for good.
A three-pointer by Browning did bring Francis Marion to within 64-62 with 7:14 left, but Catawba countered with a 12-3 run that gave the Indians a commanding 76-65 lead.
FMU shot 44.8 percent from the floor over the opening 20 minutes, but that figure dipped to 29.5 percent in the second half. For the night, the Patriots were 4-of-24 from three-point range and only 16-of-33 at the free throw line.
Francis Marion did outrebound Catawba 55-42 and committed one less turnover than the Indians (14-13).
11-14-14 8:50 pm at Salisbury,NC (Goodman Gym)
CATAWBA 86, FRANCIS MARION 72
FRANCIS MARION (0-1)
Detrek Browning 6-19 4-6 18; Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan 6-13 3-9 15; Jay Alexander
4-8 3-6 11; Mike Davis Jr. 2-7 4-8 8; Trevonte Dixon 3-10 0-0 7; A.J.
Jackson 2-7 0-0 5; David Jerome 2-4 1-2 5; Luka Zivkovic 1-3 1-2 3; David
Brown 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Bryant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 16-33 72.
CATAWBA (1-0)
Arrington,Kijuan 6-13 5-7 19; Brown,Rakeen 6-11 2-3 17; Taylor,Jameel 3-6
6-6 15; Morrison,Jerrin 6-14 3-4 15; Perkins,Reggie 2-3 0-0 6; Warren,Troy
2-3 2-4 6; Marijosius,Vismantas 0-3 4-7 4; Sealey,Ben 1-5 1-2 4;
Henderson,Dominique 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 23-33 86.
Halftime: Catawba 36 Francis Marion 33
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-24 (Detrek Browning 2-7; Trevonte Dixon 1-7;
A.J. Jackson 1-4; Mike Davis Jr. 0-4; Luka Zivkovic 0-1; David Brown 0-1),
Catawba 11-23 (Taylor,Jameel 3-3; Brown,Rakeen 3-5; Arrington,Kijuan 2-6;
Perkins,Reggie 2-2; Sealey,Ben 1-5; Marijosius,Vismantas 0-1;
Morrison,Jerrin 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan; Mike
Davis Jr., Catawba-Arrington,Kijuan. Rebounds--Francis Marion 54 (Jay
Alexander 11), Catawba 42 (Arrington,Kijuan 10). Assists--Francis Marion 7
(Mike Davis Jr. 2; Detrek Browning 2; Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan 2), Catawba 11
(Sealey,Ben 3; Brown,Rakeen 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 29, Catawba 26.
Technical fouls--None. A-100
