FLORENCE, SC – Tyrell Kirk and the seventh-ranked UNC Pembroke Braves went on a 12-0 run over the final 2:43 minutes to escape an upset-minded Francis Marion University squad 76-66, Wednesday night (Jan. 26) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball play.
 
The Patriots (7-9, 5-9) will be back at the Smith University Center this Saturday (Jan. 29) at 4 p.m. in a rematch with Erskine College.
 
In the gut-wrenching loss, FMU junior guard Tionne Rollins would post a career-high in points with 26. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor as well as 5-of-11 from behind the arc. Freshmen guard Jose Benitez would tie his career high in points with 14, while also dishing out five assists and grabbing two steals. Freshmen center Jonah Pierce would lead the Patriots with nine rebounds and record two steals and two blocks.
 
Kirk led UNCP (17-1, 14-1) in points with 30 and reeled in seven rebounds, while forward Spencer Levi would follow with 14 points and six rebounds.
 
The Patriots would start the first half with an 8-3 lead after two free throws from Pierce, a fade away jumper and a layup from freshmen forward Nick Silva, and a lay-in from Rollins. The Braves would bring that deficit to two points after a three-pointer from Nate Dunlop to make the score (8-5). The score would stay tight for a majority of the first half, until the Patriots would catch fire and push the lead to as much as 11 points after a 10-2 run. A driving layup from Benitez followed by a steal by the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native that set up a deep three for Rollins to get the home crowd on their feet, making the score (37-26) with 3:03 left in the first stanza. The Patriots would hold a lead of eight points heading into halftime at 42-34.
  
The Patriots held that lead for most of the second half until the Braves would take a 64-63 advantage at the 3:45 mark after a Kirk jump shot. A three-pointer by Rollins put Francis Marion back up a 66-64, but the Braves would score the final 10 points, including nine from Kirk
 
Francis Marion ended the contest shooting 24-of-53 (45.3%) from the field, while UNCP shot 28-of-65 (43.1%) percent from the floor. The Patriots shot 7-of-17 (41.2%) from behind the arc and the Braves would shoot 6-of-24 (25.0%). FMU hit 11-of-16 (68.8%) from the line, and the Braves would sink 14-of-18 (77.8%).

 
 
01/26/22 7:30 pm at Florence, SC
#7/#10 UNC PEMBROKE 76, FRANCIS MARION 66
UNC PEMBROKE (17-1,14-1 Confer)
Tyrell Kirk 12-18 2-2 30; Spencer Levi 6-9 2-4 14; Jordan Ratliffe 1-10 5-6
7; Deon Berrien 3-9 0-0 7; Trenton McIntyre 2-4 2-2 6; Jakari Gallon 1-2 3-4
5; Javonte Waverly 2-8 0-0 4; Nate Dunlop 1-5 0-0 3; Bradlee Haskell 0-0 0-0
0; Nygell Verdier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 14-18 76.
FRANCIS MARION (7-9,5-9 Conferen)
Tionne Rollins 9-15 3-6 26; Jose Benitez 5-10 2-4 14; Nick Silva 4-14 0-0 8;
Yohan-Steve Yebga 3-3 0-0 6; Ja'Lil Robinson 0-0 4-4 4; Jonah Pierce 1-5 2-2
4; Matthew Lee 2-5 0-0 4; Asante Turner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 11-16 66.
Halftime: Francis Marion 42 UNCP 34
3-point goals--UNC Pembroke 6-24 (Tyrell Kirk 4-6; Deon Berrien 1-3; Nate
Dunlop 1-4; Trenton McIntyre 0-1; Javonte Waverly 0-4; Jordan Ratliffe 0-6),
Francis Marion 7-17 (Tionne Rollins 5-11; Jose Benitez 2-3; Nick Silva 0-3).
Fouled out--UNC Pembroke-None, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--UNC Pembroke
39 (Deon Berrien 9), Francis Marion 29 (Jonah Pierce 9). Assists--UNC
Pembroke 11 (Tyrell Kirk 3), Francis Marion 16 (Jose Benitez 5). Total
fouls--UNC Pembroke 17, Francis Marion 21. Technical fouls--None. A-637