FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University's three seniors combined for 53 points, including 34 from graduate student Evrik Gary, as the Patriots extracted some revenge on Lander University in the form of an 88-74 Peach Belt Conference win, Saturday afternoon (March 1) in men's basketball action.

Francis Marion ends the regular season on a four-game winning streak and moves to 12-14 overall and 8-11 in the PBC.  Saturday's victory came only three weeks after Lander had beaten the Patriots by 33 points in Greenwood.

As the fourth seed from the PBC's East Division, the red-hot Patriots will face the West Division's top seed, University of Montevallo, on Friday at the conference tournament quarterfinals in Columbus, Ga.  Tip-off time will be announced on Sunday.

Gary scored a season-high equaling 34 points for the second time in eight days.  The 6-3 Camden native has scored at least 27 points in each of his four contests, coincidentally all FMU wins.  He shot 9-of-17 from the floor on Saturday, including 3-of-7 on three-point attempts, and 13-of-15 at the foul line in his final appearance in the Smith University Center.  In the process, he pushed his career point total to 1,753, still second on the all-time FMU list and fourth on the career PBC list, but climbing.

Gary also pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists, while playing all but two minutes.

FMU junior guard Trevonte Dixon recorded 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and six assists, while committing only one turnover in 35 minutes of play.  Junior swingman Dustin Jones added 13 points.  Senior forward Robert Carpenter registered 11 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Tyler Deihl had eight points, four rebounds, and four assists with no turnovers in 35 minutes of action.

Senior point guard Michael Panaggio led Lander (17-11, 11-8) with 24 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while junior center Dermaine Smith tallied 15 points and nine rebounds.  Lander will also play on Friday in the quarterfinals as the East Division's third seed.

Lander led the entire first half, although the Patriots did tie the score on two occasions at 25-25 and 31-31.  A layup by guard Denzel Myers and two free throws by Smith allowed the Bearcats to leave the floor at halftime holding a 35-32 advantage.

FMU took its first lead of the evening at 36-35 on a pair of free throws by Jones 1:04 into the second half.  The contest would be deadlocked six times over the opening 7:41 of the second stanza.  A three-pointer by Dixon gave Francis Marion the lead for good at 51-48 and ignited a 20-8 spurt by the Patriots. That run put FMU ahead 68-56 with 4:17 remaining.

Lander closed to within 78-70 on a three-point play by Panaggio with 1:16 left, but the Patriots hit 10 consecutive free throws to seal the victory over their long-time rivals.

The Patriots committed only eight turnovers, while forcing 15 Lander miscues, and FMU outrebounded the Bearcats 37-33.  Francis Marion connected on 45.9 percent of its field goal attempts, but shot a sizzling 57 percent over the final 20 minutes.  The Patriots were also 19-of-21 at the foul line in the second stanza, and finished the game 23-of-28 at the stripe.

Lander shot 41.1 percent from the field, including 9-of-23 from beyond the arc, and was 19-of-26 at the free throw line.

3-1-14 4:10 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 88, LANDER UNIVERSITY 74
LANDER UNIVERSITY (17-11 , 11-8 PBC)
Michael Panaggio 7-13 5-5 24; Dermaine Smith 5-11 5-9 15; Jareal Smith 5-13
3-3 14; Mike Lee 2-6 6-8 12; JR Washington 1-4 0-0 3; Denzel Myers 1-1 0-0
2; Mario Pendarvis 1-3 0-0 2; Darius Carrier 1-4 0-1 2; Ricardo Martin 0-1
0-0 0; Alen Hardy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 19-26 74.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (12-14, 8-11 PBC)
Evrik Gary 9-17 13-15 34; Trevonte Dixon 6-12 2-3 15; Dustin Jones 5-11 0-0
13; Robert Carpenter 5-9 0-0 11; Tyler Deihl 2-6 3-4 8; David Brown 0-1 4-4
4; Luka Zivkovic 1-3 0-0 2; Mykel Harris 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 28-61 23-28 88.
Halftime: Lander 35 Francis Marion 32
3-point goals--Lander University 9-23 (Michael Panaggio 5-10; Mike Lee 2-4;
Jareal Smith 1-4; JR Washington 1-4; Dermaine Smith 0-1), Francis Marion
University 9-28 (Dustin Jones 3-6; Evrik Gary 3-7; Robert Carpenter 1-3;
Trevonte Dixon 1-4; Tyler Deihl 1-5; Mykel Harris 0-1; Luka Zivkovic 0-1;
David Brown 0-1). Fouled out--Lander University-Jareal Smith, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds--Lander University 33 (Dermaine Smith 9), Francis
Marion University 37 (Trevonte Dixon 8). Assists--Lander University 13
(Michael Panaggio 6), Francis Marion University 16 (Trevonte Dixon 6). Total
fouls--Lander 22, Francis Marion 20. Technical fouls--None. A-725