FLORENCE, SC – Junior guard
Tionne Rollins tied his career high in points on Saturday (Jan. 29) as Francis Marion University won its first-ever home game in the Conference Carolinas beating Erskine College 83-66.
The Patriots (8-9, 6-9) will be return to the Smith University Center on Monday (Jan. 31) at 4 p.m. in a rematch with Southern Wesleyan University, a contest that was postponed from an earlier date.
Rollins led the Patriots with 26 points and 10 rebounds, recording his first career double-double as a Patriot. He shot 10-of-22 from the floor as well as 6-of-15 from behind the arc. Freshmen guard
Jose Benitez scored 14 points, while also dishing out nine assists and reeling in seven rebounds. Freshmen forward
Nick Silva added 13 points as well for FMU.
Francis Marion was a perfect 12-of-12 at the foul line, equaling the third-best single-game performance in team history. The single-game record is 21-of-21 set against the College of Charleston in 1980, while the last time FMU had this good a night at the line was a 13-of-13 showing against Embry-Riddle University in 2016.
RJ Bell led the Flying Fleet (2-17, 2-13) with 22 points and three steals, while Tyrell Oglesby posted 14 points and dished out five assists.
FMU would come out fiery by starting the first half with a 12-4 lead going into the first media timeout. This would come from Rollins and Benitez hitting a few shots to gain an eight-point lead. Fresh out of the timeout, the Patriots still kept that fire going. Rollins would hit two shots from behind the arc and Silva would knock down one of his own, as FMU would extend its margin to 21 (29-8), before a Bell three pointer would knock it down to an 18-point lead heading into the under 12 timeout.
The Patriots would extend the lead back up to 20 points on two occasion before entering halftime with a 13-point advantage, 48-35.
The Patriots held that double-figure lead for most of the second half, until Bell hit a three-pointer to trim FMU's lead down to eight (55-47). This would give Erskine somewhat of a spark as they managed to bring the deficit within six (55-49) after an Oglesby fast break lay-up with 11:20 remaining.
The Patriots extended their lead back to 11 after a Benitez driving layup to make the score 62-51. Erskine brought the deficit within seven (66-59) after Bell converted a driving lay-up at the 5:37 mark. A lay-in by senior
Alex Cox, two free throws by Silva, and a fast-break bucket by junior
Matthew Lee pushed the lead to 72-59. FMU would not back down and later a Rollins' three and a dunk from freshmen center
Jonah Pierce eventually resulted in an 18-point advantage (81-63).
Francis Marion ended the game shooting 31-of-69 (44.9%) from the field, while the Flying Fleet shot 22-of-62 (35.5%) from the floor. The Patriots knocked down 9-of-26 (34.6%) from behind the arc and Erskine shot 6-of-22 (27.3%).
01/29/22 4:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 83, ERSKINE 66
ERSKINE (2-17,2-13 Confer)
RJ Bell 8-22 3-4 22; Tyrell Oglesby 3-7 8-9 14; Jalen Miller 3-3 0-0 9;
Jaylen Prioleau 4-10 1-4 9; Connor Stark 1-2 2-2 4; Emandi Brooks 1-3 1-2 3;
Travis Walters 1-1 0-0 2; Stephen Thomas 1-5 0-0 2; Kaleb Brooks 0-9 1-2 1;
Tavis Bridges 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 16-23 66.
FRANCIS MARION (8-9,6-9 Conferen)
Tionne Rollins 10-22 0-0 26;
Nick Silva 4-9 4-4 13;
Jose Benitez 5-9 0-0 11;
Farid SaintCyr Jr. 3-6 2-2 9;
Alex Cox 1-5 4-4 6;
Jonah Pierce 3-7 0-0 6;
Matthew Lee 2-6 0-0 4;
Yohan-Steve Yebga 2-2 0-0 4;
Nieja Jordan 1-3 2-2 4;
Jedon Ward 0-0 0-0 0;
Asante Turner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-69 12-12 83.
Halftime: Francis Marion 48 Erskine 35
3-point goals--Erskine 6-22 (RJ Bell 3-10; Jalen Miller 3-3; Jaylen Prioleau
0-1; Emandi Brooks 0-1; Kaleb Brooks 0-6; Tyrell Oglesby 0-1), Francis
Marion 9-26 (
Tionne Rollins 6-15;
Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-2;
Jose Benitez 1-2;
Nick Silva 1-3;
Alex Cox 0-4). Fouled out--Erskine-None, Francis
Marion-None. Rebounds--Erskine 35 (Tavis Bridges 7; Kaleb Brooks 7), Francis
Marion 44 (
Tionne Rollins 10). Assists--Erskine 11 (Tyrell Oglesby 5),
Francis Marion 17 (
Jose Benitez 9). Total fouls--Erskine 20, Francis Marion
21. Technical fouls--None. A-516
