Box Score GREENWOOD, SC – Lander University quickly erased an eight-point halftime lead for Francis Marion University and the Bearcats later used a 28-9 run midway through the final stanza to claim an 82-65 win over the Patriots, Wednesday night (Jan. 27) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.
Francis Marion drops to 11-8 overall and 4-7 in the PBC, while the division-leading Bearcats improve to 15-5 and 9-2.
The Patriots will return to Florence for a four-game homestand beginning with a 3:30 tip-off on Saturday against Georgia College.
Sophomore swingman A.J. Jackson led FMU with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a 6-of-10 effort from behind the three-point arc. Sophomores Detrek Browning and Mike Davis Jr. added 16 and 11 points respectively.
JR Washington's 17 points led four Lander players in double digits. Tobiasz Hose registered a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
A trio of three-pointers gave Francis Marion an early 9-8 lead, but Lander connected on 10 of its first 15 field goal attempts and the Bearcats raced to a 24-13 advantage. Back-to-back three-pointers by Davis Jr. and Jackson allowed FMU to regain the lead briefly at 27-26, but with 4:10 left before halftime the Patriots faced a 33-29 deficit.
Francis Marion held Lander scoreless for the remainder of the stanza while scoring 12 consecutive points to go ahead 41-33 at intermission. That run included five points each by Jackson and Browning.
Francis Marion connected on 9-of-18 three-points attempts over the opening 20 minutes. However, the tables would turn in the second stanza. Lander shot 59.3 percent over the final 20 minutes, while holding FMU to 8-of-28 shooting.
A 13-0 run to open the second half gave Lander the lead for good. Francis Marion pulled to within 52-51 after a three-point play by Davis Jr. with 10:48 left, but the Bearcats scored 28 of the game's next 37 points to own an 80-60 advantage.
For the game, Francis Marion shot 36.4 percent from the floor, was 11-of-25 from behind the arc, and 6-of-8 at the foul line. Lander connected on 52.6 percent of its shots, including 12-of-23 from long range, and was 10-of-20 at the charity stripe.
1-27-16 7:30 p.m. at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
LANDER UNIVERSITY 82, FRANCIS MARION 65
FRANCIS MARION (11-8, 4-7 PBC)
A.J. Jackson 8-15 0-0 22; Detrek Browning 7-14 0-1 16; Mike Davis Jr. 4-13
1-1 11; Alante Fenner 2-10 2-2 6; Brandon Parker 2-4 0-0 5; Kenneth Jackson
1-5 1-2 3; Mykel Harris 0-0 2-2 2; Nick Talko 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Bryant 0-0 0-0
0; Samson Nnaji 0-1 0-0 0; Judah Alexander 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-66 6-8 65.
LANDER UNIVERSITY (15-5, 9-2 PBC)
JR Washington 5-8 3-7 17; Tobiasz Hose 5-13 3-5 15; Sergio Smith 6-8 2-2 14;
Tyree King 4-6 1-2 10; Jarryd Coleman 3-5 0-0 9; Scott Elder 4-8 1-2 9; Rahu
Purdie 2-5 0-0 6; Telvin Gabriel 1-1 0-0 2; Matthew McClain 0-2 0-0 0; Eric
Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Israel Wall 0-0 0-2 0; Taylor Buffkin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
30-57 10-20 82.
Halftime: Francis Marion 41 Lander 33
3-point goals--Francis Marion 11-25 (A.J. Jackson 6-10; Detrek Browning 2-4;
Mike Davis Jr. 2-7; Brandon Parker 1-2; Alante Fenner 0-2), Lander
University 12-23 (JR Washington 4-5; Jarryd Coleman 3-5; Rahu Purdie 2-5;
Tobiasz Hose 2-5; Tyree King 1-1; Matthew McClain 0-1; Taylor Buffkin 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Lander University-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 37 (Brandon Parker 7), Lander University 40 (Tobiasz Hose 13).
Assists--Francis Marion 17 (Mike Davis Jr. 4; Alante Fenner 4), Lander
University 20 (JR Washington 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion 19, Lander
University 13. Technical fouls--None. A-450
