FLORENCE, SC – Graduate student Evrik Gary scored a game-high 26 points and reached another career milestone, while junior guard Trevonte Dixon added a career-high 21 points to help Francis Marion University to a 78-74 overtime victory over UNC Pembroke, Thursday night (Feb. 6) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion ups its overall record to 8-11 and remains in fourth place in the PBC East Division standings with a 5-8 mark.  The Patriots will embark on a three-game road swing beginning Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. match-up with third-place Lander University in Greenwood, S.C.

Gary was 7-of-17 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from behind the three-point arc, and a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line while playing all 45 minutes.  He added a game-high eight assists and three steals.  In the process, the Camden native passed former Patriot great Allen Floyd to move into third place on the Francis Marion career scoring list with 1,601 points.

Dixon, a Florence native and former Wilson High School standout, was 8-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-3 at the stripe en route to his career-high total.  He played all but two minutes of the overtime contest.

FMU's junior 6-10 center Clark Major recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds despite picking up his fourth foul only four minutes into the second half.

Guard Alex Bradley led the Braves (13-11, 4-10) with 17 points off the UNCP bench, while sophomore forward Brandon Winford tallied 16 points and 14 rebounds.  Junior forward Ben Jacobs also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Bradley forced overtime when he drained a three-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation to knot the score at 65-65.  Gary had a chance to win the game on the ensuing possession, but his layup attempt rolled off the iron just before the horn sounded.

In the extra session, senior Robert Carpenter gave the Patriots the lead for good at 69-67 on a tip-in of Dixon's missed layup.  After a UNCP turnover, Carpenter fed Dixon for a successful lay-in and FMU led 71-67.  The lead would reach seven points, 75-68, following a pair of free throws by Major with 28 ticks left.

A three-point play by Winford and a three-pointer by Bradley trimmed the margin to 76-74 with nine seconds on the clock, but Dixon sealed the win when he dropped in two free throws with five seconds left.

FMU started the game quickly, nailing five of its first six shots and taking a 16-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest.  UNCP rallied to within seven points at 20-13, but FMU answered with seven straight points to go up 27-13.

A 13-2 run by the Braves cut the deficit to a single basket at 30-28, but again the Patriots answered.  FMU scored the game's next seven points and held a 37-30 advantage at halftime.

Several times in the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza, UNCP pulled to within a single possession, but Francis Marion managed to hang onto the lead.  The Braves finally took their first and only lead of the night at 51-50 after a jumper by Quamain Rose with 8:55 remaining.  A Dixon bucket in the lane and a three-pointer by Gary quickly erased that lead and put the Patriots back on top 55-51.

The lead would swell to eight points, 61-53, following  back-to-back three-pointers by Dixon and Gary.  However, UNCP closed the game on a 12-4 run to force overtime.

Francis Marion connected on 40.6 percent of its field goal attempts, including 9-of-29 from three-point range, and was 17-of-21 at the free throw line.  UNCP shot 38.5 percent, including 5-of-13 from behind the arc, and was 19-of-28 at the foul stripe.

The Patriots committed only 11 turnovers and earned a 10-point margin (23-13) in points off turnovers.

2-6-14 7:43 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 78, UNC PEMBROKE 74
UNC PEMBROKE (13-11 , 4-10 PBC)
Alex Bradley 5-11 4-4 17; Brandon Winford 4-12 8-13 16; Ben Jacobs 4-9 4-7
12; Griffin Pittman 4-10 0-0 10; Quamain Rose 4-11 0-0 8; Keysheen Hinton
1-5 3-3 5; Reggie Cobia 2-5 0-0 4; Chris Lindsay 1-1 0-1 2; Jihad Wright 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 25-65 19-28 74.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (8-11 , 5-8 PBC)
Evrik Gary 7-17 8-8 26; Trevonte Dixon 8-18 3-3 21; Clark Major 3-3 5-7 11;
Dustin Jones 3-7 0-0 9; Robert Carpenter 3-5 0-0 6; Tyler Deihl 2-8 1-3 5;
Mykel Harris 0-1 0-0 0; Luka Zivkovic 0-5 0-0 0; David Brown 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 26-64 17-21 78.
Halftime: Francis Marion 37 UNCP 30. Regulation 65-65
3-point goals--UNC Pembroke 5-13 (Alex Bradley 3-5; Griffin Pittman 2-5;
Quamain Rose 0-2; Keysheen Hinton 0-1), Francis Marion University 9-29
(Evrik Gary 4-6; Dustin Jones 3-6; Trevonte Dixon 2-7; Tyler Deihl 0-4; Luka
Zivkovic 0-4; Robert Carpenter 0-2). Fouled out--UNC Pembroke-Griffin
Pittman; Quamain Rose, Francis Marion University-Robert Carpenter; Dustin
Jones. Rebounds--UNC Pembroke 46 (Brandon Winford 14), Francis Marion
University 35 (Clark Major 15). Assists--UNC Pembroke 19 (Brandon Winford 4;
Quamain Rose 4), Francis Marion University 15 (Evrik Gary 8). Total
fouls--UNC Pembroke 22, Francis Marion University 21. Technical fouls--UNC
Pembroke-None, Francis Marion University-None. A-1180