FLORENCE, SC – Freshman swingman A.J. Jackson scored a career-high 20 points to lead four players in double figures and Francis Marion University used a school-record game-opening 23-0 run to cruise past Virginia University of Lynchburg 98-58, Monday night (Jan. 12) in non-conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion snaps a six-game losing skid and moves back above .500 for the season at 8-7.  The Patriots will return to Peach Belt Conference action on Wednesday when they play host to 23rd-ranked UNC Pembroke at 7:30 p.m. in the Smith University Center.

WATCH THE GAME REPLAY

Jackson, who came off the Patriot bench,  connected on 8-of-10 field attempts, including 3-of-5 shots from behind the three-point arc. The three other FMU players in double figures also came off the bench: senior Dustin Jones with 20, senior Luka Zivkovic with a career-high 14, and freshman Judah Alexander 10.  Zivkovic, a 6-7 forward, also hauled down a career-high 11 rebounds for his first-ever double-double.

Freshman Jacob Knight paced Virginia-Lynchburg (1-14) with 17 points, while freshman Lawrence Robinson added 15 points and eight rebounds.

Francis Marion hit on eight of its first 13 shots, while the Dragon missed their opening six field goal attempts as the Patriots steamrolled to a 23-0 lead after only five minutes.  The margin swelled to 33-6 following a three-pointer by freshman Mike Davis Jr. at the 11 minute mark of the opening stanza.

FMU led by as many as 36, at 50-14 following a three-pointer by Jones, before settling for a 59-29 halftime advantage.  The Patriots shot a sizzling 56.1 percent over the first 20 minutes (9-of-17 on three-pointers), while holding Virginia-Lynchburg to 11-of-37 shooting.

The game's pace slowed somewhat during the final 20 minutes.  The Dragons crept to within 21 points at 70-49 with 8:34 remaining, but Francis Marion responded with a 13-5 spurt that pushed the margin back to 29 points at 83-54.  Zivkovic grabbed an offensive rebound and stuck a jumper with 26 seconds left to account for the game's final points and to produce the night's biggest margin.

For the game, FMU shot 50 percent from the floor, including 13-of-31 from beyond the arc, and the Patriots were 15-of-21 at the foul line.  Virginia-Lynchburg shot 29.4 percent, was 5-of-18 from long range, and hit 13-of-21 charity tosses.

Seventy of the Patriots' 98 points came from reserves, while FMU also held a 27-6 lead in fast-break points.  FMU also outrebounded the Dragons 50-37.

1-12-15 8:08 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 98, VIRGINIA-LYNCHBURG 58
VIRGINIA-LYNCHBURG (1-14)
Jacob Knight 5-13 4-4 17; Lawrence Robinson 6-7 3-4 15; Adrian Saunders 4-13
1-2 11; DeShawn Chinn 2-9 1-2 5; Hakeem Anthony 1-12 2-2 4; Jeremy Farmer
1-4 1-4 3; Dajon Lowe 1-4 0-1 2; Jaquan Sterling 0-5 1-2 1; Elajuwon Beasley
0-1 0-0 0; Justin Freeman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-68 13-21 58.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (8-7)
Dustin Jones 7-12 0-0 20; A.J. Jackson 8-10 1-1 20; Luka Zivkovic 6-13 0-0
14; Judah Alexander 3-6 4-5 10; Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan 3-4 2-2 8; Trevonte
Dixon 2-3 4-5 8; Detrek Browning 3-6 0-0 7; David Brown 2-6 2-2 6; Mike
Davis Jr. 1-3 1-2 4; David Jerome 0-2 1-4 1; Alex Bryant 0-5 0-0 0. Totals
35-70 15-21 98.
Halftime: Francis Marion 59 Virginia-Lynchburg 29
3-point goals--Virginia-Lynchburg 5-18 (Jacob Knight 3-6; Adrian Saunders
2-5; Hakeem Anthony 0-2; Jeremy Farmer 0-2; Dajon Lowe 0-2; Jaquan Sterling
0-1), Francis Marion University 13-31 (Dustin Jones 6-11; A.J. Jackson 3-5;
Luka Zivkovic 2-5; Mike Davis Jr. 1-3; Detrek Browning 1-3; Alex Bryant 0-1;
David Brown 0-2; Trevonte Dixon 0-1). Fouled out--Virginia-Lynchburg-None,
Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Virginia-Lynchburg 37 (Lawrence
Robinson 8), Francis Marion University 50 (Luka Zivkovic 11).
Assists--Virginia-Lynchburg 15 (Hakeem Anthony 8), Francis Marion University
20 (David Brown 8). Total fouls--Virginia-Lynchburg 14, Francis Marion
University 19. Technical fouls--None. A-759