FLORENCE, SC – A 11-0 run with 6:22 left in the first-half of play shifted momentum for the Patriots after a tight start, and allowed Francis Marion University to a come away with a 96-76 win over Johnson & Wales University, Monday night (Feb. 1) in non-conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion improves to 13-8 overall on the season as the team completes its non-conference schedule. The Wildcats fall to 9-11 on the season.

FMU will play host to Lander University on Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. in a pivotal Peach Beach Conference matchup. The Patriots enter play in a third-place tie in the East Division standings, while the Bearcats find themselves atop the East Division.

Sophomore guard Mike Davis Jr. led FMU with 20 points and seven assists, while sophomore Detrek Browning added 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists.  Sophomore 6-7 forward Judah Alexander chipped in 11 points, including a 4-for-4 shooting performance from the floor, while pulling down three rebounds. Senior 6-7 forward Mykel Harris added 12 points and two assists off the Patriot bench.

Junior forward Ricky Porter led the Wildcats with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman guard Desinor Sherer added 16 points and four assists. Johnson & Wales finished with five players scoring in double digits.

FMU found itself to be on fire from three-point range throughout the game by going 11-for-28, while also dishing the ball off for 21 assists, compared to the Wildcats' 15. Browning paced Francis Marion, who went 21-for-31 at the free throw line, with an 8-for-10 effort.

The Patriots scored the game's opening eight points and found themselves with a 15-8 lead midway through the first half.  The Wildcats wouldn't be outdone as they put together a pair of good offensive possessions to turn a seven-point deficit into a one-point lead. Both teams seemed content on trading bucket with time winding down before intermission. 

JWU led 28-26 when the Patriots scored their 11 consecutive points to go ahead 37-28.  A lane-driving layup by Davis Jr. with 25 ticks remaining would stretch FMU's lead to 47-35, but a pair of free throws by the Wildcats cut the deficit to 10. A last second three-point attempt from Davis Jr. wouldn't fall with the buzzer sounding as the Patriots took a 47-37 lead into the locker-room at the end of the first half.

The momentum built by FMU to close-out the first stanza carried over into the second half as the Patriots used a 7-2 run to widen the lead to 17 points. Six of the seven points would come from inside of the paint, as Francis Marion would out-score Johnson & Wales 40-36 in that category.

FMU claimed its largest lead of the game (23 points) with 5:32 left in the second half after a free throw from Fenner made it 83-60. The Wildcats did cut the deficit to 86-70 with 2:43 remaining after a pair of free throws from Desinor. The 16-point gap would be the closest that JWU would come in an attempt for a comeback.

Fenner drained a three-point shot from deep beyond the arc with three seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Patriots, giving them a 96-76 lead.

Francis Marion shot 53.3 percent from the floor.  The Wildcats connected on 44.8 percent of their shots, while hitting just 4-of-17 shots from behind the arc, and making 20-of-25 free throw attempts.

2-1-16 7 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 96, JOHNSON & WALES UNIV 76
JOHNSON & WALES UNIV (9-11)
Porter, Rickey 8-16 6-6 22; Desinor, Sherer 5-11 4-4 16; Crawford, Nick 3-5
6-9 12; Cohen, Joshua 3-9 4-6 11; Parker, Jayvoine 3-8 0-0 7; Hopper,
Shontrell 2-4 0-0 4; Hall, Mark 1-1 0-0 2; Kirby, Rodney 1-1 0-0 2; Mercer,
Caleb 0-0 0-0 0; Holmes, Tolbert 0-2 0-0 0; Ballard, Jarrett 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 26-58 20-25 76.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (13-8)
Mike Davis Jr. 7-15 1-1 20; Detrek Browning 4-9 8-10 18; Alante Fenner 4-7
4-8 15; Mykel Harris 4-4 3-3 12; Judah Alexander 4-4 3-4 11; David Jerome
2-2 0-3 4; Kenneth Jackson 2-4 0-0 4; Alex Bryant 2-2 0-0 4; Samson Nnaji
2-5 0-0 4; Brandon Parker 1-2 2-2 4; Nick Talko 0-2 0-0 0; A.J. Jackson 0-4
0-0 0. Totals 32-60 21-31 96.
Halftime: Francis Marion 47 Johnson & Wales 37
3-point goals--Johnson & Wales Univ 4-17 (Desinor, Sherer 2-7; Parker,
Jayvoine 1-5; Cohen, Joshua 1-2; Holmes, Tolbert 0-2; Hopper, Shontrell
0-1), Francis Marion University 11-28 (Mike Davis Jr. 5-11; Alante Fenner
3-5; Detrek Browning 2-6; Mykel Harris 1-1; Brandon Parker 0-1; Nick Talko
0-1; A.J. Jackson 0-3). Fouled out--Johnson & Wales Univ-Cohen, Joshua,
Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Johnson & Wales Univ 31 (Porter,
Rickey 10), Francis Marion University 36 (Detrek Browning 6).
Assists--Johnson & Wales Univ 15 (Crawford, Nick 5), Francis Marion
University 21 (Mike Davis Jr. 7). Total fouls--Johnson & Wales Univ 25,
Francis Marion University 25. Technical fouls--A.J. Jackson. A-895
Charges Drawn: Nnaji, Crawford, Cohen, Kirby