PEMBROKE, NC – Francis Marion University erased a three-point halftime deficit with a 16-2 run to open the second half and the Patriots never looked back en route to an 89-76 upset road win over eighth-ranked and previously unbeaten UNC Pembroke, Wednesday night (Nov. 30) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (4-3, 2-0) will entertain Belmont Abbey College on Saturday at 4 p.m.  The victory was the first for FMU over a nationally ranked opponent since a 92-89 road win at No.4 USC Aiken on Feb. 6, 2019.  The victory also gave the Patriots a leg up in the annual Battle of I-95 rivalry.
 
Sophomore 6-8 center Jonah Pierce led FMU with 18 points and a career-high equaling 14 rebounds, while senior guard Alex Cox scored 17, senior guard Tionne Rollins 16, senior forward Bryce Beamer 15, and senior guard Doug Alves 10.
 
Pierce hit 5-of-9 field attempts and was 8-of-8 at the foul line as the Patriots drained 23-of-27 charity tosses. Both Beamer and Cox drained a trio of three-pointers as FMU connected on 10-of-26 attempts from behind the arc.
 
Cox also hauled down eight rebounds, while Rollins and Alves handed out four assists each.
 
JaJuan Carr led UNCP (7-1, 0-1) with 20 points.
 
UNCP held an early 7-point advantage at 13-6, but Francis Marion rallied to go up nine at 30-21 following a Beamer three-pointer with 7:54 left before halftime.
 
The Braves then rattled off 16 of the game's next 18 points to forge ahead 37-32, and would eventually carry a 45-42 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
 
FMU then opened the second half with its 16-2 spurt to go up 58-47.  A pair of free throws by Beamer capped the run at the 14:27 mark.
 
The Braves would trim the margin to 58-53 with 12:23 left, but that was as close as they would get.  Francis Marion gradually pulled away to a 19-point advantage at 82-63 after two free throws by Pierce with 3:09 remaining.
 
During the final 20 minutes, Francis Marion committed only two turnovers and held UNCP to 28.1 percent shooting.
 
For the game, Francis Marion connected on 45.9 percent of its field goal attempts, while UNC Pembroke shot 43.3 percent, including 4-of-22 from three-point distance, and was 20-of-25 at the foul line.
 
FMU forced 13 Braves' turnovers and converted then into 20 points.  The Patriots also registered a 23-6 advantage in fast-break points.
 
 
11/30/22 7:00 pm at Pembroke, NC
FRANCIS MARION 89, #8 UNC PEMBROKE 76
FRANCIS MARION (4-3,2-0 CC)
Jonah Pierce 5-9 8-8 18; Alex Cox 5-12 4-4 17; Tionne Rollins 7-19 0-0 16;
Bryce Beamer 5-8 2-2 15; Doug Alves 2-5 5-8 10; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 2-3 0-0
5; Chandler O'Bannon 1-4 2-3 4; Yohan-Steve Yebga 0-0 2-2 2; Nick Silva 1-1
0-0 2; Asante Turner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 23-27 89.
UNC PEMBROKE (7-1,0-1 CC)
JaJuan Carr 7-10 3-4 20; Javonte Waverly 3-8 4-4 10; Elijah Cobb 5-8 0-0 10;
Amare Miller 3-5 2-2 8; Bradlee Haskell 2-10 4-7 8; Cortez Marion-Holmes 3-6
0-0 6; KJ Walker 0-2 5-6 5; Jakari Gallon 1-4 2-2 4; Nygell Verdier 1-3 0-0
3; Lureon Walker 1-3 0-0 2; Qon Murphy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 20-25 76.
Halftime: UNCP 45 FMU 42
3-point goals--Francis Marion 10-26 (Alex Cox 3-7; Bryce Beamer 3-5; Tionne
Rollins 2-8; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-2; Doug Alves 1-3; Chandler O'Bannon 0-1),
UNC Pembroke 4-22 (JaJuan Carr 3-6; Nygell Verdier 1-1; Elijah Cobb 0-1;
Bradlee Haskell 0-5; KJ Walker 0-2; Lureon Walker 0-2; Qon Murphy 0-1;
Javonte Waverly 0-4). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, UNC Pembroke-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 35 (Jonah Pierce 14), UNC Pembroke 35 (Bradlee
Haskell 6; Elijah Cobb 6). Assists--Francis Marion 14 (Doug Alves 4; Tionne
Rollins 4), UNC Pembroke 13 (Bradlee Haskell 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion
18, UNCP 21. Technical fouls-UNCP TEAM. A-612