FLORENCE, SC – Graduate student Evrik Gary scored 29 points and junior 6-10 center Clark Major posted a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds as Francis Marion University led from wire-to-wire in an 87-82 win over Flagler College, Wednesday night (Feb. 19) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.

The Patriots snap a three-game skid and improve to 9-14 overall and 6-11 in the PBC, further strengthening their hold on fourth place in the East Division standings and the final tournament berth.  Flagler, which had hoped to make a major step into the race for that final berth, falls to 10-14 and 4-13 and remains winless in five trips to Florence as a PBC member.

FMU will play host to GRU Augusta on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. as the Patriots celebrate Homecoming 2014.

Gary shot 9-of-19 from the floor and was a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line, while also registering five rebounds and four assists.  He increased his career point total to 1,658, just 56 points shy of second place on the Patriot career list – 1,714 by Louis McCullough.

Major's rebound total was a career high, while his point total was only two shy of a career high. It was Major's second double-double in the last five outings.

Junior swingman Dustin Jones added 16 points for FMU.

Senior forward Keith Matthews led Flagler with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while both Jerrell Oxendine and Lydell Manigo tallied 18 points apiece.

Francis Marion scored the game's opening eight points – five by Gary – and never trailed.  The Saints rallied to within a bucket, at 8-6, with six straight points.  FMU extended its margin to 19-10 with 10:58 remaining after a jump shot by Major, but Flagler responded with a 9-3 spurt to draw within 22-19.

Six consecutive points, including back-to-back baskets by Jones, gave the Patriots their first double-figure advantage at 40-30 with 1:48 left before halftime.  Francis Marion left for the locker room owning a 42-35 lead at the break, but only after Flagler's Matthews nailed a desperation three-pointer from beyond half court that banked in at the halftime horn.

FMU quickly stretched its lead to 48-35 only two minutes into the second stanza.  The margin was eight points (63-55) when Flagler scored seven consecutive points to cut the deficit to 63-62 with 8:12 remaining.  Moments later, leading 66-65, Francis Marion used a layup by Major and a three-pointer by Jones to pull out to a six-point margin.

A jump shot Gary provided FMU with an 83-75 lead with1:46 left.  A three-pointer by Matthews trimmed the advantage to five, but a pair of free throws by both reserve guard David Brown and Gary in the final minute helped seal the victory.

Francis Marion shot 44.9 percent from the floor, including 9-of-25 from beyond the three-point arc, and was 16-of-21 at the foul line.  Flagler connected on 39.7 percent of its shots, was 6-of-19 from long range, and a near perfect 26-of-30 at the charity stripe.

The Patriots held a slight rebounding advantage, but more importantly led 21-12 in second-chance points.

2-19-14 7:45 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 87, FLAGLER COLLEGE 82

FLAGLER COLLEGE (10-14, 4-13 PBC)
Keith Matthews 6-11 7-8 21; Jerrell Oxendine 4-15 9-9 18; Lydell Manigo 6-13
6-9 18; Richard Brown 4-9 4-4 14; Desmond Gibson 2-5 0-0 4; Adam Jones 1-3
0-0 3; Dennis Diaz 1-5 0-0 2; Kessler Bell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-63 26-30 82.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (9-14 , 6-11 PBC)
Evrik Gary 9-19 8-8 29; Dustin Jones 6-12 2-2 16; Clark Major 6-13 4-7 16;
Mykel Harris 4-7 0-0 8; David Brown 1-5 2-4 5; Robert Carpenter 2-4 0-0 5;
Trevonte Dixon 2-2 0-0 5; Tyler Deihl 1-5 0-0 3; Luka Zivkovic 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 31-69 16-21 87.
Halftime: Francis Marion 42 Flagler 35
3-point goals--Flagler College 6-19 (Richard Brown 2-3; Keith Matthews 2-3;
Adam Jones 1-3; Jerrell Oxendine 1-4; Kessler Bell 0-1; Dennis Diaz 0-3;
Lydell Manigo 0-2), Francis Marion University 9-25 (Evrik Gary 3-7; Dustin
Jones 2-5; David Brown 1-2; Tyler Deihl 1-5; Robert Carpenter 1-3; Trevonte
Dixon 1-1; Luka Zivkovic 0-2). Fouled out--Flagler College-None, Francis
Marion University-None. Rebounds--Flagler College 40 (Keith Matthews 11),
Francis Marion University 43 (Clark Major 16). Assists--Flagler College 12
(Richard Brown 4), Francis Marion University 19 (Tyler Deihl 6). Total
fouls--Flagler College 17, Francis Marion University 22. Technical
fouls--None. A-899