Box Score MORROW, GA – Clayton State University placed four players in double figures and the Lakes held off repeated Francis Marion University rallies to claim an 81-70 victory, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 19) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.
Francis Marion (7-3, 0-2) will make its first-ever visit to the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia to face the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. The game qualifies as a special exempt contest in that it counts as a regular-season game for USC, but is an exhibition for FMU and will not affect the Patriots' won-loss record.
The next home game for Francis Marion will be Saturday, Jan. 2, against Columbus State University at 3:30 p.m.
Sophomore point guard Detrek Browning paced the Patriots with 22 points, while sophomore Mike Davis Jr. tallied 17 before fouling out. Junior Alante Fenner scored eight points, while senior David Jerome registered six points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Judah Alexander added six points and six rebounds.
Saiquan Terry led the Clayton State attack (6-3, 1-1) with 24 points.
A 9-0 run by Francis Marion midway through the second half gave the Patriots a 65-64 lead. However, Clayton State tied the game with a free throw and Terry put the Lakers on top for good at 67-65 with a jump shot at the 5-minute mark.
FMU did close to within 70-68 after two free throws by Davis Jr., but the Lakers closed the game on an 11-2 run.
Despite holding a 12-10 advantage in offensive rebounds, FMU trailed in second-chance points 27-13.
After a trio of early ties, Francis Marion took a 9-7 lead on an inside bucket by Mykel Harris. That margin swelled to 13-10 after a pair of Alexander free throws, but Clayton State responded with eight straight points to go ahead 18-13. The Laker advantage reached nine points at 26-17 with 7:47 left before halftime, but FMU scored six straight points to pull within 26-23.
Clayton State answered with its own 5-0 spurt to lead 31-23, but a three-pointer by Browning in the final minute trimmed the deficit to 37-36 at intermission.
A three-pointer by Davis Jr. early in the second stanza gave FMU a 41-39 lead. The lead see-sawed back and forth and with 15:53 remaining it was knotted at 47-47. The Lakers built a 64-56 advantage with 9:51 left before the 9-0 spurt, that included five points by Browning, gave the Patriots their final lead.
Francis Marion connected on 38.1 percent of its field goal attempts, was 7-of-24 from three-point territory, and hit 15-of-18 free throws. Clayton State made 45.3 percent of its shots, was 7-of-19 from beyond the arc, and 16-of-22 at the charity stripe.
12-19-15 3:50 PM at Morrow, Ga.
CLAYTON STATE 81, FRANCIS MARION 70
FRANCIS MARION (7-3, 0-2 PBC)
Detrek Browning 5-10 8-8 22; Mike Davis Jr. 6-15 2-2 17; Alante Fenner 4-10
0-0 8; David Jerome 2-5 2-4 6; Judah Alexander 2-5 2-2 6; Mykel Harris 2-4
0-0 4; Kenneth Jackson 2-5 0-0 4; Samson Nnaji 1-7 1-2 3; Nick Talko 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 24-63 15-18 70.
CLAYTON STATE (6-3, 1-1 PBC)
Terry,Saiquan 9-16 1-2 24; Knight,Takija 5-8 3-4 14; Powell,Nathan 5-12 4-6
14; Bennamon,Dantez 5-12 2-3 12; Davis,Alfonso 1-3 4-5 6; Bell,Richard 2-5
0-0 4; Henry,Sirdarius 1-3 2-2 4; Joseph,Kendall 1-2 0-0 3; Johnson,Tj 0-1
0-0 0; Moore,Darrius 0-0 0-0 0; White,Maurice 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 16-22 81.
Halftime: Clayton State 37 Francis Marion 36
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-24 (Detrek Browning 4-8; Mike Davis Jr.
3-10; David Jerome 0-1; Nick Talko 0-2; Alante Fenner 0-3), Clayton State
7-19 (Terry,Saiquan 5-10; Knight,Takija 1-1; Joseph,Kendall 1-2;
Bell,Richard 0-1; Henry,Sirdarius 0-2; White,Maurice 0-1; Bennamon,Dantez
0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Mike Davis Jr., Clayton
State-Davis,Alfonso. Rebounds--Francis Marion 39 (David Jerome 8), Clayton
State 38 (Bennamon,Dantez 8; Bell,Richard 8). Assists--Francis Marion 11
(Alante Fenner 3; Detrek Browning 3; Samson Nnaji 3), Clayton State 14
(Powell,Nathan 7). Total fouls--Francis Marion 19, Clayton State 15.
Technical fouls--None. A-256
