Box Score BLUEFIELD, WV – Sophomore point guard Detrek Browning scored 23 points and directed a Francis Marion University offense that committed only seven turnovers as the Patriots defeated Bluefield State College 81-69, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 28) in the final game of the Currence Men's Basketball Classic.
Francis Marion ups its record to 5-1, the second such start for the Patriots in as many years. FMU will return to Florence to play host to St. Andrews University on Monday evening at 7 p.m.
Browning, who scored 24 points in Friday's opening-round win, shot 5-of-9 from the floor and 12-of-16 at the foul line on Saturday. He was followed by junior guard Alante Fenner with 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Sophomore swingman Mike Davis Jr. scored 13 points and junior 6-8 center Kenneth Jackson nearly registered his first career double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Chas Harvey led the Big Blues (1-6) with 17 points and seven rebounds, while James Day added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Francis Marion never trailed in the contest and the score was tied only once, at 2-2. The Patriots broke that deadlock with 12 straight points, including three-pointers by Browning and Davis Jr. FMU held Bluefield State scoreless for five minutes, while forcing the Big Blues to miss seven straight shots and commit five turnovers.
Another three-pointer by Davis Jr. pushed the lead to 17-4. FMU held a 25-11 advantage with 7:09 left in the opening half and the Patriots exited the floor at halftime holding a 39-27 advantage.
The FMU lead quickly expanded to 19 points with seven consecutive points – dunks by Jackson and Davis Jr. and a three-pointer by Fenner – to open the second stanza. Another three-pointer by Fenner swelled the lead to 20 points, 50-30, with 15:58 remaining. Bluefield State rallied to get to within eight points at 62-54 following a lay-in by Harvey with 8:11 on the clock. However, six straight points by the Patriots pushed the lead back to double digits where it would remain for the rest of the game.
FMU connected on 45.8 percent of its field goal attempts, including 6-of-19 three-pointers, while the Patriots drained 31 of 45 free throws. Bluefield State shot 34.8 percent, was 6-of-23 from behind the arc, and hit only half of its 30 free throws.
11-28-15 4:10 pm at Bluefield, W.Va.
FRANCIS MARION 81, BLUEFIELD STATE COLLEGE 69
FRANCIS MARION (5-1)
Detrek Browning 5-9 12-16 23; Alante Fenner 4-10 8-13 18; Mike Davis Jr. 5-8
1-2 13; Kenneth Jackson 3-6 4-4 10; Mykel Harris 3-6 2-2 8; Samson Nnaji 0-2
4-4 4; A.J. Jackson 1-3 0-2 3; Nick Talko 1-3 0-0 2; Alex Bryant 0-0 0-0 0;
David Jerome 0-1 0-2 0; Filipp Burnashov 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Parker 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 22-48 31-45 81.
BLUEFIELD STATE COLLEGE (1-6)
Harvey, Chas 6-15 3-5 17; Day, James 6-13 1-6 13; Windham, Joshua 2-11 4-6
8; Williams, Aaron 3-3 2-4 8; Hernandez, Julian 2-6 0-0 6; McCoy, Jamal 1-5
4-6 6; Holliday, Avery 2-9 1-2 6; Farr, Derrek 1-5 0-0 3; Adeyemo, Joseph
1-2 0-1 2. Totals 24-69 15-30 69.
Halftime: Francis Marion 39 Bluefield State 27
3-point goals--Francis Marion 6-19 (Mike Davis Jr. 2-4; Alante Fenner 2-5;
A.J. Jackson 1-3; Detrek Browning 1-3; Nick Talko 0-1; Samson Nnaji 0-1;
Mykel Harris 0-2), Bluefield St. 6-23 (Hernandez, Julian 2-4; Harvey, Chas
2-6; Holliday, Avery 1-5; Farr, Derrek 1-2; McCoy, Jamal 0-1; Windham,
Joshua 0-5). Fouled out--Holliday, Avery. Rebounds--Francis Marion 38 (Kenneth
Jackson 9), Bluefield St. 47 (Windham, Joshua 9). Assists--Francis Marion 7
(Alante Fenner 4), Bluefield St. 12 (Windham, Joshua 3; Harvey, Chas 3). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 23, Bluefield State 31. Technical fouls—FMU coach Edwards 2. A-85
