MILLEDGEVILLE, GA — The Francis Marion University men's basketball team began their abbreviated 2020-21 season on the road in a Peach Belt Conference matchup against Georgia College on Thursday afternoon (Jan. 7). Despite strong performances by junior forward Langston Gaither and senior guard Holden Redparth, the Patriots fell 78-66 at the Centennial Center.
 
FMU will return to Florence for home opener on Saturday when the Patriots entertain Georgia Southwestern State University at 3:30 p.m. Attendance will be limited to 250 – only season ticket holders and player/staff family members identified on a pre-game pass list. No general admission game-day tickets will be sold.
 
Gaither led the Patriots (0-1, 0-1) with 20 points to go along with a team-high in rebounds (6). Redparth, a Rockville, Md., native, scored 16 points in his debut for the Patriots, while graduate transfer Kevin Holston Jr. was next among Patriot scorers with 12 points and three steals. 
 
Georgia College (1-0, 1-0) was led by senior guard Jordan Thomas with 30 points. He was followed by Luke Chism who recorded 10 points and seven rebounds, and Kohl Roberts with 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
FMU jumped out to an early lead but found themselves behind after the Bobcats went on an 8-0 run with 11:00 minutes remaining in the first half. The Patriots answered back with an 18-5 run to take a 32-29 lead, their first lead since the opening minutes. Francis Marion battled back-and-forth with the Bobcats in the final minutes of the first half before, Christian Koneman tipped in a last-second shot to give Georgia College a 36-33 lead going into the locker room.
 
The Patriots came out of the locker room strong, battling back-and-forth with the Bobcats. Multiple lead changes occurred before Georgia College pulled away with an 11-4 run with 3:00 remaining in the game.
 
 
01/07/21 3:00 pm at Milledgeville, GA
GEORGIA COLLEGE 78, FRANCIS MARION 66
FRANCIS MARION (0-1,0-1 Peach Be)
Langston Gaither 6-14 8-9 20; Holden Redparth 3-16 7-8 16; Kevin Holston Jr.
3-8 4-5 12; Alex Cox 4-7 0-0 9; Darius Dawson 2-7 1-1 5; Ja'Von Anderson 1-1
0-0 3; Jamal Edmonson 0-2 1-3 1; Uhana Ochan 0-3 0-0 0; Ben Jones 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 19-58 21-26 66.
GEORGIA COLLEGE (1-0,1-0 Peach Be)
Jordan Thomas 6-12 5-6 22; Kohl Roberts 5-7 5-10 15; Luke Chism 4-7 1-2 10;
Wesley Simpson 1-3 4-5 6; Hunter Norman 1-2 2-2 5; Austin Sloan 2-3 0-0 5;
Christian Koneman 2-3 0-2 5; Tucker Gilbert 2-2 0-0 4; Richard Crawford 1-5
1-2 4; Brandon Thomas 0-5 2-2 2; Chris Parks 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 20-31
78.
Halftime: Georgia College 36 Francis Marion 33
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-23 (Holden Redparth 3-11; Kevin Holston Jr.
2-4; Alex Cox 1-3; Ja'Von Anderson 1-1; Jamal Edmonson 0-1; Darius Dawson
0-1; Langston Gaither 0-2), Georgia College 10-25 (Jordan Thomas 5-9; Austin
Sloan 1-2; Hunter Norman 1-2; Richard Crawford 1-4; Luke Chism 1-1;
Christian Koneman 1-2; Brandon Thomas 0-4; Wesley Simpson 0-1). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Georgia College-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 35
(Darius Dawson 6; Langston Gaither 6), Georgia College 41 (Christian Koneman
8). Assists--Francis Marion 4 (Alex Cox 1; Kevin Holston Jr. 1; Darius
Dawson 1; Langston Gaither 1), Georgia College 12 (Wesley Simpson 5). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 24, Georgia College 21. Technical fouls--None.