FLORENCE, SC – USC Aiken rallied over the final 10 minutes of the game to claim an 81-80 win over Francis Marion University, Wednesday night (Feb. 5) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

FMU will play at Young Harris College on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.  The next home contest for the Patriots will be Wednesday, Feb. 12, against Augusta University at 7:30 p.m.

Sophomore center Winston Hill just missed his third consecutive 30-point outing as the reigning USBWA National Player of the Week tallied 29 points and 13 rebounds. Those numbers account for his eighth double-double of the season.

Four other Patriots scored in double figures led by junior swingman Keith Matthews with 16.  Freshman forward Ja'Lil Robinson added 12 points, all coming in the second half, while sophomore swingman Alex Cox chipped in 11 and senior point guard Jaquez Smith accounted for 10 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.  In the process, Smith passed former Patriot Hall of Famer Carlton Farr for fourth place on the program's career assists list with 327.

Senior forward Faison Brock paced USCA with 32 points, on 11-of-20 shooting, and 14 rebounds.

FMU held the Pacers to 35.1 percent shooting, including a 7-for-40 mark in the first half, and the Patriots outrebounded USCA 48-45.

Post-game comments from FMU head coach Gary Edwards

02/05/20 7:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
S.C. AIKEN 81, FRANCIS MARION 80
S.C. AIKEN (14-9,10-3 Peach)
Faison Brock 11-20 9-11 32; Gus Rowland 5-12 8-9 19; Xzavier Barmore 4-12
2-6 12; Kyle Tackeberry 2-4 2-2 8; Shaquan Jules 2-5 2-2 6; Robert Hill 1-4
0-0 2; Dhieu Deing 1-12 0-0 2; Damontez Oliver 0-3 0-0 0; Darius Bell 0-2
0-0 0. Totals 26-74 23-30 81.
FRANCIS MARION (4-16,3-10 Peach)
Winston Hill 11-23 6-10 29; Keith Matthews 7-15 0-1 16; Ja'Lil Robinson 4-10
0-0 12; Alex Cox 4-11 0-0 11; Jaquez Smith 3-10 3-4 10; Trey Jones 1-2 0-0
2; Jamal Edmonson 0-1 0-0 0; Gabriel Dickerson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-72 9-15 80.
S.C. Aiken........................   23   58  -   81
Francis Marion................   43   37  -   80
3-point goals--S.C. Aiken 6-28 (Kyle Tackeberry 2-3; Xzavier Barmore 2-7;
Faison Brock 1-3; Gus Rowland 1-5; Damontez Oliver 0-2; Darius Bell 0-1;
Dhieu Deing 0-7), Francis Marion 11-29 (Ja'Lil Robinson 4-7; Alex Cox 3-9;
Keith Matthews 2-6; Winston Hill 1-1; Jaquez Smith 1-6). Fouled out--S.C.
Aiken-None, Francis Marion-Jaquez Smith. Rebounds--S.C. Aiken 45 (Faison
Brock 14), Francis Marion 48 (Winston Hill 13). Assists--S.C. Aiken 11 (Gus
Rowland 7), Francis Marion 23 (Jaquez Smith 9). Total fouls--S.C. Aiken 18,
Francis Marion 21. Technical fouls--S.C. Aiken-Xzavier Barmore; Faison
Brock. A-934