FLORENCE, SC – Graduate student Evrik Gary and senior guard Tyler Deihl combined for 52 points on 18-of-30 shooting as Francis Marion University cruised to a 118-75 non-conference victory over Bluefield State College, Tuesday night (Feb. 25) in men's basketball action.

The Patriots improve to 11-14 with their third straight win.  FMU will close out its regular-season schedule with a Senior Day match-up against long-time Peach Belt Conference rival Lander University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Smith University Center.

Gary scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting and in the process passed former FMU great Louis McCullough for second place on the Patriots' career scoring list with 1,719 points.  Carlton Farr occupies first place with 1,863 points.

Gary also moved into fourth place on the Peach Belt's all-time scoring list.

Deihl scored a career-high 25 points as he connected on 5-of-10 three-point attempts.  He also handed out a career-high equaling eight assists and committed only one turnover in 31 minutes of action.

Sophomore 6-7 center Mykel Harris added 19 points and a career-high equaling nine rebounds, while junior Dustin Jones registered 16 points and five assists.

Freshman Dominique Cartier led Bluefield State (7-14) with 15 points and five assists, while reserve guard Remar Brothers added 14 points.

FMU nailed its first four three-point attempts and jumped out to a 12-8 advantage.  The Patriots trailed only once in the contest at 6-3.  With the margin at only eight points (34-26), Francis Marion outscored the Blues 22-9 over the final six minutes of the first half.  FMU led 56-35 at intermission.

Only twice in the second stanza did the lead dip under 20 points, the final time at 77-58 with 11:56 remaining.  FMU responded with nine consecutive points to erase any doubt as to the victor.  The final score represented the largest lead of the contest.

Francis Marion shot a season-high 56.9 percent for the game and was 18-of-38 from beyond the arc.  The Patriots were also a near-perfect 18-of-19 at the foul line.  FMU committed a season-low equaling seven turnovers and led 20-2 in points-off-turnovers, and outrebounded the Blues 42-30 to account for a 16-2 edge in second-chance points. 

The Blues managed only 35 percent shooting, including 10-of-26 from three-point range, and Bluefield State was 23-of-28 at the free throw stripe.

2-25-14 7:45 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 118, BLUEFIELD STATE COLLEGE 75
BLUEFIELD STATE COLLEGE (7-14)
Dominique Cartier 6-19 0-0 15; Remar Brothers 3-7 6-6 14; Treon Claiborne
2-6 5-6 9; Joseph Dawkins 3-10 0-0 9; Adam Copley 1-4 4-4 7; Sergio Smith
1-1 5-7 7; Avery Holliday 1-4 3-4 6; Samuel Ouedraogo 2-3 0-1 4; Antoine
Bryant 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 21-60 23-28 75.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (11-14)
Evrik Gary 10-16 5-5 27; Tyler Deihl 8-14 4-4 25; Mykel Harris 7-8 4-4 19;
Dustin Jones 5-10 2-2 16; Robert Carpenter 3-8 1-2 9; Luka Zivkovic 3-3 0-0
8; David Brown 3-5 0-0 7; Trevonte Dixon 2-8 0-0 5; Sam Caron 0-0 2-2 2;
Alex Bryant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-72 18-19 118.
Halftime: Francis Marion 56 Bluefield State 35
3-point goals--Bluefield State College 10-26 (Joseph Dawkins 3-8; Dominique
Cartier 3-8; Remar Brothers 2-4; Adam Copley 1-4; Avery Holliday 1-2),
Francis Marion University 18-38 (Tyler Deihl 5-10; Dustin Jones 4-7; Luka
Zivkovic 2-2; Evrik Gary 2-5; Robert Carpenter 2-6; Trevonte Dixon 1-5;
Mykel Harris 1-1; David Brown 1-2). Fouled out--Bluefield State
College-None, Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Bluefield State
College 30 (Treon Claiborne 7), Francis Marion University 42 (Mykel Harris
9). Assists--Bluefield State College 15 (Dominique Cartier 5), Francis
Marion University 25 (Tyler Deihl 8). Total fouls--Bluefield State College
18, Francis Marion University 20. Technical fouls--None. A-644