GREENWOOD, SC – A 12-5 spurt over the final two minutes, including a 10-of-10 performance at the free throw line provided Lander University with an 83-76 win over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

FMU will play its final home game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. as local rival UNC Pembroke visits the Smith University Center for Senior Night.

Sophomore 6-7 center Winston Hill led Francis Marion with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while junior forward Keith Matthews scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  Sophomore swingman Alex Cox added nine points, while senior point guard Jaquez Smith tallied six points and six assists.  With 354 career assists, Smith now stands third on the Patriot all-time list.

Deon Berrien came off the Lander bench to pace the Bearcats with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Francis Marion led by as many as six in the early going, at 11-5.  The game was close throughout the opening half.  A three-pointer by Matthews provided the Patriots with a 39-36 advantage, but Lander scored the half's final four points to lead 40-39 at intermission.

The second continued with no more than two possessions separating the two squads. Lander held a 71-66 margin, but a three-pointer by Matthews and two free throws by Hill knotted the contest at 71-71 with 2:15 remaining.

Lander then put together the decision run, including hitting the 10 straight free throws.

Francis Marion shot 44.6 percent from the floor, including 11-of-27 three-point attempts, while the Bearcats connected on 48.3 percent of their shots, including 4-of-13 from behind the arc.

2/22/20 3:30 PM at Greenwood, SC (Finis Horne Arena)
LANDER 83, FRANCIS MARION 76
FRANCIS MARION (4-21, 3-15)
Winston Hill 9-15 5-7 25; Keith Matthews 8-19 2-5 22; Alex Cox 3-7 0-0 9;
Ja'Lil Robinson 3-5 0-0 7; Jaquez Smith 3-11 0-0 6; Trey Jones 2-7 0-1 5;
Jamal Edmonson 1-1 0-1 2; Gabriel Dickerson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 7-14 76.
LANDER (19-7, 13-5)
Deon Berrien 6-9 8-8 21; LaRaymond Spivery 4-8 4-5 13; Sidney Robinson 3-8
4-5 11; Elijah Alston 3-6 2-2 9; DaJuan Moorer 3-5 2-2 8; Tyler Brevard 3-9
0-1 6; DeShundre Rucker 3-6 0-0 6; Codrin Cobzaru 2-2 0-0 4; Ryan Jolly 1-2
1-2 3; Morris Robinson Jr. 1-4 0-0 2; Justin Holliday 0-1 0-2 0. Totals
29-60 21-27 83.
Francis Marion................   39   37  -   76
Lander........................       40   43  -   83
3-point goals--Francis Marion 11-27 (Keith Matthews 4-10; Alex Cox 3-6;
Winston Hill 2-3; Trey Jones 1-4; Ja'Lil Robinson 1-2; Jaquez Smith 0-2),
Lander 4-13 (LaRaymond Spivery 1-1; Elijah Alston 1-3; Deon Berrien 1-2;
Sidney Robinson 1-4; Morris Robinson Jr. 0-1; Tyler Brevard 0-2). Rebounds--
Francis Marion 32 (Winston Hill 8), Lander 44 (Deon Berrien 10). Assists--
Francis Marion 17 (Jaquez Smith 6), Lander 7 (Sidney Robinson 2; DaJuan
Moorer 2; Tyler Brevard 2). Total fouls--Francis Marion 21, Lander 17.
Technical fouls--None.  A-1527