Box Score GREENWOOD, SC – Freshmen Mike Davis Jr. and Detrek Browning combined for 50 points and a hot-shooting Francis Marion University squad pulled away late for a 90-79 road win at Lander University, Wednesday night (Feb. 4) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.
Francis Marion captures its second straight road conference win to even its overall mark at 11-11 and improve to 3-10 in the PBC. The victory also snapped a four-game skid for the Patriots on the Bearcats' home floor – FMU's first win there since Jan. 6, 2010.
FMU will look to grab its third straight road win on Saturday evening when the Patriots play at Flagler College at 6 p.m.
A week after suffering through its worst shooting night in four seasons – against the same Bearcats – Francis Marion connected on 64.7 percent of its field goal attempts, including a remarkable 13-of-22 from beyond the three-point arc.
Davis Jr. scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Browning scored 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and handed out seven assists. Junior forward Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan tallied 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Seniors Luka Zivkovic and Dustin Jones each chipped in nine points.
Tobiasz Hose led Lander (15-6, 7-6) with 32 points – 16 in each half – and a game-high 16 rebounds. He connected on 12-of-17 field goal attempts. Ricardo Martin added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Trailing by a point, 10-9, a three-pointer by Davis Jr. and a jumper by Allen-Jordan gave FMU a 14-10 advantage. The margin would swell to eight points at 33-25 after a free throw by Allen-Jordan with 9:30 left in the half. FMU led 49-46 at intermission after shooting a sizzling 67.9 percent over the opening 20 minutes, including 7-of-11 three-point attempts.
Lander rallied to take its only lead of the second stanza at 54-52, but FMU then ran off 10 straight points to claim a 62-54 advantage. The margin was only three, 71-68, with seven minutes left in the game when Browning scored seven points in an 11-1 spurt that produced an 82-69 margin.
Despite dressing only eight healthy players, the FMU bench outscored the Bearcat reserves 35-1. Although Francis Marion registered only two offensive rebounds in the game – which were both converted into points – second-chance points were not a necessity for the hot-shooting Patriots.
FMU held Lander to 45.2 percent shooting, including 34.4 percent over the final 20 minutes, and the Bearcats managed only 7-of-20 three-point shots.
2-4-15 7:30 p.m. at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 90, LANDER 79
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (11-11, 3-10 PBC)
Mike Davis Jr. 10-12 1-2 26; Detrek Browning 9-14 3-4 24; Dii'Jon
Allen-Jordan 6-10 6-8 18; Luka Zivkovic 4-6 0-0 9; Dustin Jones 3-6 0-0 9;
A.J. Jackson 1-3 1-2 4; David Jerome 0-0 0-0 0; Alex Bryant 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 33-51 11-16 90.
LANDER (15-6, 7-6 PBC)
Tobiasz Hose 12-17 4-8 32; Ricardo Martin 5-13 5-7 15; JR Washington 4-13
4-5 14; Kiair Crouch 5-12 2-2 13; Scott Elder 2-4 0-0 4; Sergio Smith 0-1
1-2 1; Asger Hjorth 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Lee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 16-24 79.
Halftime: Francis Marion 49 Lander 46
3-point goals--Francis Marion University 13-22 (Mike Davis Jr. 5-7; Dustin
Jones 3-6; Detrek Browning 3-5; Luka Zivkovic 1-2; A.J. Jackson 1-2), Lander
7-20 (Tobiasz Hose 4-7; JR Washington 2-9; Kiair Crouch 1-3; Mike Lee 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion University-None, Lander-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion University 23 (Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan 7), Lander 35 (Tobiasz Hose 16).
Assists--Francis Marion University 23 (Detrek Browning 7; Dii'Jon
Allen-Jordan 7), Lander 10 (Tobiasz Hose 4). Total fouls--Francis Marion
University 22, Lander 14. Technical fouls--None. A-535
