FLORENCE, SC – Lenoir-Rhyne University connected on 14 three-point field goals and hit 15-of-19 free throws over the final 15 minutes to hold off a furious Francis Marion University rally and capture a 102-93 win, Saturday night (Nov. 14) in the final game of the 2015 Peach Belt Conference/South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Challenge.

Eleventh-ranked UNC Pembroke defeated Catawba College 78-66 in Saturday's opening contest.

Francis Marion (1-1) will travel to Southern Wesleyan University on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.  The Patriots will return home to host Piedmont International University on Friday at 7 p.m.

FMU junior Alante Fenner tallied a career-high 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting.  The 6-5 guard also drained 8-of-9 free throw attempts, grabbed five rebounds, and handed out four assists.  His point total was only four shy of the Patriot single-game record.

Sophomore point guard Detrek Browning scored 18 points and dished out five assists, while senior 6-7 forward Mykel Harris chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds and junior 6-8 center Kenneth Jackson added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Forward Rob Noyes led Lenoir-Rhyne (2-0) with 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting, while guard Will Perry scored 21 and was 10-of-11 at the charity stripe.

The Patriots led in the early going and held a 21-19 advantage after a pair of free throws by Jackson with 9:15 left before halftime.  The Bears then used a 23-7 spurt over the next seven minutes to take a 16-point lead en route to a 48-34 halftime advantage.  FMU twice lost the services of sharp-shooting guard Mike Davis Jr. to injuries, but the sophomore did return in the second half.  However, he failed to score on only one field goal attempt.

Both squads shot over 63 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

Lenoir-Rhyne's largest lead came at 70-50 as Perry drained a three-pointer with 13:46 left.  FMU mounted a furious comeback that trimmed the margin to one possession at 96-93 with 37 seconds remaining after Fenner converted on a fastbrek layup following a steal by Browning.

On the ensuing Bears' possession, Keenan Palmore dropped in two free throws with 28 ticks left, and following a Patriot turnover, Perry iced the contest with two more charity tosses.

For the game, the Patriots shot 50.7 percent from the field, were 4-of-19 from beyond the arc, and hit 21-of-26 free throws.  The Bears connected on 57.9 percent from the floor, including 14-of-32 from long distance, and made 22-of-28 foul-line shots.

11-14-15 7:55 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
LENOIR-RHYNE UNIV. 102, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 93
LENOIR-RHYNE UNIV. (2-0)
Noyes, Rob 11-13 0-1 22; Perry, Will 4-7 10-11 21; Bales, Billy 5-10 0-0 15;
Palmore, Keenan 4-7 6-8 14; Miller, Lawrence 3-3 4-4 13; Lucas, Reed 2-8 2-2
7; Evans, Darrion 1-3 0-0 3; Chambers, JacQues 1-3 0-1 3; Stenborg, Bobby
1-2 0-1 2; Leskovar, Filip 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 33-57 22-28 102.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (1-1)
Alante Fenner 13-17 8-9 36; Detrek Browning 7-17 4-5 18; Mykel Harris 4-7
6-7 14; Kenneth Jackson 5-11 2-2 12; A.J. Jackson 3-9 0-0 8; Judah Alexander
2-3 1-3 5; Filipp Burnashov 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Bryant 0-1 0-0 0; Brandon Parker
0-0 0-0 0; David Jerome 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Davis Jr. 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-67
21-26 93.
Halftime: Lenoir-Rhyne 48  Francis Marion 34
3-point goals--Lenoir-Rhyne Univ. 14-32 (Bales, Billy 5-10; Perry, Will 3-6;
Miller, Lawrence 3-3; Evans, Darrion 1-2; Chambers, JacQues 1-3; Lucas, Reed
1-7; Stenborg, Bobby 0-1), Francis Marion University 4-19 (Alante Fenner
2-4; A.J. Jackson 2-8; Mykel Harris 0-1; Filipp Burnashov 0-1; Mike Davis
Jr. 0-1; Detrek Browning 0-4). Fouled out--Lenoir-Rhyne Univ.-None, Francis
Marion University-None. Rebounds--Lenoir-Rhyne Univ. 27 (Noyes, Rob 8),
Francis Marion University 36 (Kenneth Jackson 8). Assists--Lenoir-Rhyne
Univ. 28 (Palmore, Keenan 8), Francis Marion University 15 (Detrek Browning
5). Total fouls--Lenoir-Rhyne 24, Francis Marion 25. Technical fouls--None. A-735