FLORENCE, SC — A pair of late second-half turnovers helped fueled a 7-0 run by Lander University as the Bearcats claimed an 84-80 victory over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 13) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (3-8, 3-8) will head on the road to play USC Aiken on Saturday (Feb. 20) at 3:30 p.m. The next home game will be Wednesday, Feb. 24, against Augusta University at 7:30 p.m.
 
Junior forward Langston Gaither, the conference's third-leading scorer, led FMU with 24 points, four rebounds, and three steals before fouling out with 5:03 remaining. He shot 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc, and knocked down 7-of-9 shots from the charity stripe. 
 
He was followed by freshman swingman Ben Jones who came off the bench and logged a career-high 13 points, his first career double-figure effort. Jones shot 50 percent from the field, knocked down 3-of-7 shots from long range, and went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
 
Patriot junior guard Alex Cox added 11 points and five assists, while sophomore forward Darius Dawson, a West Florence High School product, scored 11 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Ja'Von Anderson contributed eight points.
 
Redshirt-junior guard Zane Rankin led Lander (6-6, 4-4) with 18 points, and was followed by Jermaine Patterson with 16 points, DaJuan Moorer 14, and Sidney Robinson 13.
 
Lander jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as 10 at 36-26 after a three-pointer from the top of the key by Rankin at the 5:20 mark of the opening half. The Patriots answered back, going on a three-minute 11-0 run to take a 37-36 lead with 2:26 remaining. A fast-break three-pointer by Gaither capped the rally. The teams traded shots before entering the half knotted up at 39 apiece.
 
The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 41-39 lead coming out of the locker room. Both teams battle over the next 11 minutes of play with neither team leading by more than four. A pair of free throws by Jones gave the Patriots a 63-58 lead with 8:57 remaining — their largest lead of the game.
 
Lander quickly responded to regain the lead for good at 69-65. FMU cut the margin to one twice (69-68 and 72-71) thanks to three-pointers by Dawson.  The two FMU miscues then came during a game-deciding 7-0 run by the Bearcat layups to give Lander a 79-71 lead with 3:32 remaining.
 
A left-corner three-pointer by sophomore forward Jamal Edmonson trimmed the deficit to 81-77 with 39 ticks left, but three Bearcats free throws offset a last-second desperation three-pointer by Cox.
 
Francis Marion connected on 38.5 percent of its field goal attempts, including 15 three-pointers, and made 15-of-19 free throws. Lander shot 50 percent from the floor, including 11-of-20 from behind the arc, and knocked down 23-of-34 free throw attempts.
 
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.

 
02/13/21 3:30 pm at Florence, SC
LANDER 84, FRANCIS MARION 80
LANDER (6-6,4-4 Peach Be)
Zane Rankin 6-8 1-2 18; Jermaine Patterson 3-9 9-12 16; DaJuan Moorer 5-8
4-4 14; Sidney Robinson 4-9 1-4 13; Jared Sherfield 3-7 3-4 9; Deon Berrien
3-3 0-0 6; LaRaymond Spivery 1-2 1-2 4; MJ Armstrong 0-3 4-6 4; Tra'Sean
Staggs 0-0 0-0 0; Marcus Thompson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 23-34 84.
FRANCIS MARION (3-8,3-7 Peach Be)
Langston Gaither 7-13 7-9 24; Ben Jones 4-8 2-2 13; Darius Dawson 3-11 2-2
11; Alex Cox 3-7 3-4 11; Ja'Von Anderson 3-10 0-0 8; Uhana Ochan 2-6 1-2 6;
Holden Redparth 2-8 0-0 4; Jamal Edmonson 1-2 0-0 3; Matthew Lee 0-0 0-0 0;
Stan Eze 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 15-19 80.
Halftime: 39-39
3-point goals--Lander 11-20 (Zane Rankin 5-6; Sidney Robinson 4-8; LaRaymond
Spivery 1-1; Jermaine Patterson 1-2; Jared Sherfield 0-3), Francis Marion
15-36 (Langston Gaither 3-5; Darius Dawson 3-8; Ben Jones 3-7; Alex Cox 2-4;
Ja'Von Anderson 2-7; Uhana Ochan 1-2; Jamal Edmonson 1-2; Holden Redparth
0-1). Fouled out--Lander-None, Francis Marion-Langston Gaither; Ben Jones.
Rebounds--Lander 36 (Zane Rankin 8), Francis Marion 33 (Darius Dawson 7).
Assists--Lander 18 (LaRaymond Spivery 5), Francis Marion 14 (Alex Cox 5).
Total fouls--Lander 16, FMU 24. Technical fouls--None. A-119