FLORENCE, SC. — Junior guard Alex Cox came up with a steal and layup with 13 seconds remaining to lift Francis Marion University to a 79-78 Peach Belt Conference victory over Young Harris College, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23) in men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion evens both its overall and conference records at 3-3.  The Patriots will play host to local-rival UNC Pembroke on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  Attendance will again be limited to 250 – only season ticket holders, player/staff family members identified on a pre-game pass list, and a limited number of students. No general admission game-day tickets will be sold.
 
Cox's winning bucket gave him a career-high 20 points for the contest.  Junior guard Langston Gaither, the nation's sixth-leading scorer, led FMU with 23 points, including a 13-of-14 performance at the free throw line.
 
Junior 6-7 forward Uhana Ochan added a career-high 10 points as did sophomore swingman Darius Dawson.  Senior Holden Redparth chipped in eight points, while both he and Ochan also pulled down nine rebounds apiece.
 
Senior guard Alphonso Willis led the Mountain Lions (2-4, 2-3) with 27 points, six rebounds, and four assists before fouling out with 3:24 left.
 
The Patriots, who trailed by as many as 12 in the second half, found themselves down 68-58 with 7:19 remaining.  A pair of inside hoops by Ochan sparked a 7-0 FMU spurt that trimmed the margin to 68-65.  After a Young Harris basket extended the margin to 70-65, Francis Marion scored nine consecutive points – capped by a Redparth step-back jumper – to take a 74-70 advantage.
 
After two Mountain Lion free throws, Cox drained a three-pointer to put FMU ahead 77-72 with 1:39 on the clock.  Consecutive three-pointers by Brian Free and Jacorie Archie put Young Harris back ahead 78-77 with 42 seconds left.
 
Following a Patriot timeout, Redparth missed a three-pointer from the right elbow and Young Harris collected the defensive rebound.  However, Cox stepped in front of the ensuing outlet pass and drove down the lane for the winning lay-in.  The Mountain Lions had one shot, a 14-foot baseline jumper, on the final possession, but it missed and the final horn sounded before an another attempt could be launched.
 
Neither team led by more than two possessions during the opening 20 minutes.  The two squads retreated to the locker rooms at halftime knotted at 38-38 after Cox beat the first-half horn with a driving two-handed slam dunk.
 
Francis Marion shot 45.5 percent from the floor, including 9-of-25 from behind the three-point arc, and the Patriots made 20-of-24 free throws. FMU entered the contest ranked 25th nationally in three-pointers made per game at 10.  Young Harris connected on 49.1 percent of its shots, was 9-of-22 from long range, and hit 13-of-18 charity tosses.
 
 

01/23/21 2:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 79, YOUNG HARRIS 78
YOUNG HARRIS (2-4,2-3 Peach Be)
Alphonso Willis 11-20 5-10 27; Jacorie Archie 6-9 0-0 17; Brian Free 5-13
2-2 15; Sebby Jean 3-5 4-4 10; Carl Cleveland 1-2 2-2 5; Karl Chavis 2-5 0-0
4; Seth McCoy 0-2 0-0 0; Chinecherem Anukaeny 0-0 0-0 0; Caleb Towns 0-1 0-0
0. Totals 28-57 13-18 78.
FRANCIS MARION (3-3,3-3 Peach Be)
Langston Gaither 4-9 13-14 23; Alex Cox 8-12 0-0 20; Uhana Ochan 4-6 2-4 10;
Darius Dawson 3-6 3-4 10; Holden Redparth 3-13 2-2 8; Ja'Von Anderson 2-4
0-0 6; Ben Jones 1-3 0-0 2; Julius Raudonius 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 20-24
79.
Young Harris..................    38   40  -   78
Francis Marion................   38   41  -   79
3-point goals--Young Harris 9-22 (Jacorie Archie 5-7; Brian Free 3-10; Carl
Cleveland 1-2; Seth McCoy 0-2; Karl Chavis 0-1), Francis Marion 9-25 (Alex
Cox 4-7; Ja'Von Anderson 2-3; Langston Gaither 2-4; Darius Dawson 1-4;
Julius Raudonius 0-1; Ben Jones 0-1; Holden Redparth 0-5). Fouled out--Young
Harris-Karl Chavis; Alphonso Willis, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--Young
Harris 26 (Alphonso Willis 6), Francis Marion 36 (Uhana Ochan 9; Holden
Redparth 9). Assists--Young Harris 17 (Alphonso Willis 4; Sebby Jean 4),
Francis Marion 14 (Langston Gaither 3; Uhana Ochan 3; Holden Redparth 3).
Total fouls--Young Harris 20, Francis Marion 18. Technical fouls--None. A-159