FLORENCE, SC – Graduate student Evrik Gary scored a season-high 34 points to lead Francis Marion University to a 94-86 upset win over GRU Augusta, Saturday night (Feb. 22) in Peach Belt Conference men's action.

The Patriots (10-14, 7-11) satisfied a Homecoming crowd of 1,817 with a victory that coupled with an Armstrong Atlantic State University loss on Saturday night clinched a berth for FMU in the upcoming PBC Tournament. The Jaguars fall to 21-5 and 14-3.

The Patriots will step out of conference play on Tuesday night as their entertain Bluefield State College on Military Appreciation Night for a 7:30 tip-off.

Gary's point total was one shy of his career high set at Homecoming in 2013.  The 6-3 Camden native connected on 8-of-15 field goal attempts, including a trio of three-pointers, and was 15-of-17 at the foul line.  He pushed his career point total to 1,692, just 22 points shy of second place on the Patriot career list – 1,714 by Louis McCullough.  Gary also moved into fifth place on the Peach Belt's career scoring list, passing Rosendo Bryden of UNC Pembroke, who tallied 1,672.

Sophomore 6-7 center Mykel Harris came off the FMU bench and scored 16 points, while junior swingman Dustin Jones added 14 points.  Those two players combined for 24 points over the final 20 minutes.  FMU junior guard Trevonte Dixon registered nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Guard Keshun Sherrill led four GRU players in double digits with 22 points and five assists.  Guard Ryan Weens registered 14 points and six rebounds, while both Devon Wright-Nelson and KJ Sherrill added 12 points.

Francis Marion shot a season-best 52.1 percent from the floor, including 10-of-27 from three-point range, and the Patriots were a sizzling 34-of-39 at the free throw line.  FMU held GRU to 47.1 percent shooting, including 3-of-14 from deep, and the Jaguars were 19-of-25 at the stripe.

The Patriots trailed only once in the opening stanza at 4-3, although the score was tied on three occasions.  A free throw by senior Robert Carpenter gave FMU the lead for good at 15-14.  A 14-2 spurt by Francis Marion that featured nine points from Gary put the Patriots on top 42-28 with 1:21 left before halftime.  However, GRU scored the final seven points of the half to draw within 42-35 at intermission.

A layup by KJ Sherrill to open the second stanza cut the deficit further to five points at 42-37.  Moments later, another inside hoop by Sherrill got the Jaguars within four points (45-41).  Two possessions later, a layup by Dixon ignited a 7-0 run by FMU that stretched the lead to 11 points (52-41).

The Patriots gradually pulled away to a 19-point advantage after Harris scored off an assist from Carpenter with 6:18 left in the contest.  A frantic rally by the Jaguars trimmed the margin to six (90-84) with 46 seconds left, but two free throws each by junior guard David Brown and Dixon iced the FMU win.

2-22-14 3:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 94, GRU AUGUSTA 86
GRU AUGUSTA (21-5, 14-3 PBC)
Keshun Sherrill 7-16 6-7 22; Ryan Weems 5-12 4-5 14; Devon Wright-Nelson 4-6
4-4 12; KJ Sherrill 6-8 0-2 12; Ronell Crockett 2-7 2-2 6; Harold Doby 3-4
0-2 6; D'Angelo Boyce 2-3 1-1 6; Roman Hill 2-5 2-2 6; Henry McCarthy 1-2
0-0 2; Devonte Thomas 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 19-25 86.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (10-14, 7-11 PBC)
Evrik Gary 8-15 15-17 34; Mykel Harris 5-6 5-6 16; Dustin Jones 4-9 4-4 14;
Trevonte Dixon 3-6 3-3 9; Tyler Deihl 3-7 0-0 9; David Brown 0-0 6-7 6;
Robert Carpenter 2-4 1-2 6; Clark Major 0-0 0-0 0; Alex Bryant 0-0 0-0 0;
Luka Zivkovic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-48 34-39 94.
Halftime: Francis Marion 42 GRU Augusta 35
3-point goals--GRU Augusta 3-14 (Keshun Sherrill 2-6; D'Angelo Boyce 1-1;
Devonte Thomas 0-3; Ryan Weems 0-4), Francis Marion University 10-27 (Evrik
Gary 3-8; Tyler Deihl 3-7; Dustin Jones 2-7; Mykel Harris 1-1; Robert
Carpenter 1-1; Luka Zivkovic 0-1; Trevonte Dixon 0-2). Fouled out--GRU
Augusta-Harold Doby, Francis Marion University-Robert Carpenter.
Rebounds--GRU Augusta 33 (Harold Doby 8), Francis Marion University 31
(Trevonte Dixon 7). Assists--GRU Augusta 15 (Keshun Sherrill 5), Francis
Marion University 16 (Robert Carpenter 4). Total fouls--GRU Augusta 25,
Francis Marion University 24. Technical fouls--Harold Doby; Ryan
Weems.  A-1817