SAVANNAH, GA – Senior guard Detrek Browning nailed a career-high five three-pointers, but torrid second-half shooting by Armstrong State University propelled the Pirates past Francis Marion University by a 73-68 count on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion (7-7, 0-6) has lost its six conference games by a combined 30 points.  The Patriots will host Virginia University of Lynchburg in a non-conference tilt on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m.

For the seventh time this season, Browning led the FMU men in scoring, this time with a 20-point effort.  Seniors David Brown and Dustin Jones chipped in with nine points apiece.

Junior guard Nicholas Scott led the way for Armstrong (4-8, 2-4) with 15 points.  Scott, a 47.9 percent three-point shooter, connected on four of his seven attempts from beyond-the-arc. 

Brown hit a layup that gave FMU its first lead of the game at 10-8 with 15:53 remaining in the first half.  The Patriots led for most of the first half before a 6-0 spurt gave Armstrong the 32-30 halftime lead.

Two free throws by guard Emmanuel Tiluscar gave Armstrong a 66-65 advantage with less than two minutes left.  But junior forward Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan connected on a layup to put the Patriots in front 67-66 with 1:48 remaining.  Unfortunately for FMU, Tiluscar's three-pointer with 1:33 remaining gave the Pirates a lead they would not relinquish.  Tiluscar nailed his last four free throws in the final minute to seal the contest for the Pirates.

Francis Marion shot 39.6 percent from the field, while Armstrong connected on 46.6 percent of its attempts, including a 52.2 percent shooting performance in the second half.

There were seven ties and 12 lead changes in the game, and neither team led by more than eight points.