COLUMBUS, GA — A 10-0 run in the final minutes of overtime allowed the Columbus State University Cougars to steal an 80-74 victory over Francis Marion University Patriots, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 30). 
 
Francis Marion (3-5, 3-5) will remain on the road for a weekday Peach Belt Conference matchup at Augusta University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The next home contest for the Patriots will be against Clayton State University on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. 
 
The Patriots had four players on the afternoon score in double-figures. Junior Langston Gaither, the nation's No.6 scorer, led FMU tallying 23 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and two assists. He shot 10-of-11 at the free-throw line, before fouling out in the final seconds in overtime. 
 
He was followed by senior guard Holden Redparth who recorded 20 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Redparth shot 50 percent from the field (7-of-14), including 2-of-4 from three-point range, while knocking down 4-of-5 shots from the charity stripe. Sophomore Darius Dawson, a Sumter, S.C., native, logged 13 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks, and junior forward Uhana Ochan tied his career-high with 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
 
Columbus State (4-4, 4-4) had three players score in double figures. Hunter Preston led the way for the Cougars with a 25-point, 16-rebound double-double. He was followed by Kalen Clifton with 20 points, and Anthony Moore with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
The game got off to a slow start as over two minutes passed before the game's first bucket, by Redparth at the 17:26 minute mark. Columbus State quickly knotted things up 2-2, but the Patriots grabbed the lead back and didn't relent. A defensive battle took place in the opening 20 minutes. The Cougars shot 32.3 percent from the field, while the Patriots shot 30.3 from the field, and 35.7 percent from three-point range. Dawson connected on a career-high three three-pointers in the first half. With shots not falling FMU looked to the free throw line in the first half where they connected on 8-of-10 shots. Francis Marion out rebounded Columbus State 27-19 in the opening half and entered the locker room up 33-27.
 
Coming out of the half, Gaither quickly knocked down a jumper, but the Cougars chipped into the Patriots' lead with a 7-0 run to make the score 35-34. FMU battled back-and-forth with CSU before the Patriots found a 12-2 run to gain a 55-42 lead with 8:48 remain. Francis Marion continued to build on their advantage gaining a 62-48 lead — the largest lead of the night — with 5:10 left in the second half. After Redparth picked up his fourth foul, Columbus State found a spark and proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to tie the game up at 65 with 1:33 remaining in regulation. After buckets by each squad and the score was knotted up at 68-68. Moore had a chance to win it at the buzzer as he drove to the basket, but lost the ball out of bounds as the buzzer sounded.
 
FMU jumped out to a quick 72-68 lead in the overtime period but were held scoreless in the final 3:13 left in the game. CSU used a 10-0 run to grab its first lead of the game 76-74, and held on for the win. 
 
For the latest news and updates regarding Francis Marion men's basketball, follow the Patriots on Twitter at @FMUSports, on Facebook at FMUSports, and Instagram at @FMUSports or check out information online at www.fmupatriots.com.
 
 
01/30/21 3:30 pm at Columbus, GA
COLUMBUS ST. 80, FRANCIS MARION 74
FRANCIS MARION (3-5, 3-5)
Langston Gaither 6-19 10-11 23; Holden Redparth 7-14 4-5 20; Darius Dawson
5-10 0-0 13; Uhana Ochan 5-7 0-0 10; Alex Cox 2-8 2-4 6; Ja'Von Anderson 0-3
2-4 2; Ben Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 18-24 74.
COLUMBUS ST. (4-4, 4-3)
Hunter Preston 9-13 6-6 25; Kalen Clifton 9-18 0-0 20; Anthony Moore 2-8
7-10 11; Lederrius Jones 3-4 2-3 9; Lorenzo Anderson 4-11 0-0 9; Christian
Chambers 3-14 0-0 6; Devan Porter-Wilson 0-0 0-0 0; Jaelin Simpson 0-2 0-0
0; Jaquez Gilbert 0-1 0-0 0; Nelson Haskin 0-1 0-0 0; Davion Thomas 0-1 0-2
0. Totals 30-73 15-21 80.
Halftime: Francis Marion 33 CSU 27. Regulation 68-68.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 6-21 (Darius Dawson 3-5; Holden Redparth 2-4;
Langston Gaither 1-7; Alex Cox 0-5), Columbus St. 5-22 (Kalen Clifton 2-6;
Lederrius Jones 1-1; Hunter Preston 1-3; Lorenzo Anderson 1-3; Jaelin
Simpson 0-1; Jaquez Gilbert 0-1; Davion Thomas 0-1; Christian Chambers 0-5;
Anthony Moore 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Holden Redparth; Langston
Gaither, Columbus St.-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 42 (Langston Gaither
8), Columbus St. 42 (Hunter Preston 16). Assists--Francis Marion 14 (Alex
Cox 5), Columbus St. 15 (Lederrius Jones 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion 17,
Columbus St. 19. Technical fouls--None.