DUE WEST, SC – Senior guard Doug Alves had his best shooting performance as a Patriot scoring 16 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting to lead Francis Marion University to a 94-68 victory over Erskine College, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion improves to 4-1 in conference play and 6-4 overall. The Patriots will take a hiatus for Christmas break before returning to the Smith University Center on Dec. 30 for a 2 p.m. matinee rematch with local-rival Coker University.
 
Senior guard Tionne Rollins led all Patriots with 17 points, while snatching four steals along the way. Sophomore 6-8 center Jonah Pierce tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, while graduate senior Alex Cox poured in 11 points, four rebounds, and four steals.
 
FMU senior forward Bryce Beamer put in a well-rounded effort, finishing the game with nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists as 10 of 11 Patriots scored.
 
Jalen Canada led the Flying Fleet (0-11, 0-5) with 14 points.
 
A quick foul on the first possession led to head coach Jake Zehnder making four substitutions 18 seconds into the contest. Jerome Stephens put Erskine on the board to open up the scoring with a three-pointer.
 
FMU was able to respond quick and early, countering with a 10-0 run and never trailing again in the contest. The Flying Fleet were able to keep the Patriots from pulling away in the first half, going into halftime with only a 41-36 deficit.
 
A layup by Pierce with 16:37 left capped off a quick 10-2 spurt for FMU to open the second stanza, giving momentum to continue building the Patriots lead. Back-to-back three pointers by Erskine's Canada cut the Patriots lead down to 52-44 with 15:58 left, but Alves' fourth three-pointer of the night jumped the lead back to double digits for the rest of the contest.
 
Two minutes later, a flurry of back-and-forth buckets saw the Patriots build a comfortable 65-50 lead.
 
With 8:29 remaining, a three-pointer by sophomore forward Nick Silva helped the Patriots eclipse a 20-point lead. With 2:27 left, the Patriots held their largest lead of the game, an 89-59 advantage, following a three-pointer by junior guard Asante Turner. FMU never looked back, coasting their way to a 94-68 win to help them stay in the fight for the top of conference standings – one-half game out of first place.
 
Francis Marion shot 52.9 percent from the field, including 16-35 from long range, while Erskine connected on 33.8 percent of its shots, including 10-33 from behind the three-point arc.
 
The Patriots dominated post play, outscoring Erskine in the paint 38-24.
 
 
12/17/22 4:00 pm at Due West, SC
FRANCIS MARION 94, ERSKINE 68
FRANCIS MARION (6-4, 4-1)
Tionne Rollins 7-12 1-3 17; Doug Alves 5-7 1-2 16; Jonah Pierce 5-6 2-9 12;
Alex Cox 5-12 0-2 11; Bryce Beamer 4-9 0-0 9; Darius Jones 3-5 0-0 9; Nick
Silva 3-7 0-1 8; Asante Turner 2-5 0-0 6; Yohan-Steve Yebga 2-3 0-2 4;
Austin Harrell 1-3 0-0 2; Zy'Kee Knox 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-70 4-19 94.
ERSKINE (0-11, 0-5)
Jalen Canada 5-14 1-1 14; Jaylen Prioleau 4-6 3-5 11; Lanyc Shuler 3-11 5-7
11; Makayl Rakestraw 3-8 2-3 11; Jalen Robinson 3-5 0-2 7; Jerome Stephens
2-11 0-0 6; Jaylen Jennings 2-7 1-5 6; Drayton Benjamin 1-2 0-0 2; Tavis
Bridges 0-3 0-0 0; DJ Belin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-68 12-23 68.
Halftime: Francis Marion 41 Erskine 36
3-point goals--Francis Marion 16-35 (Doug Alves 5-7; Darius Jones 3-4; Nick
Silva 2-3; Asante Turner 2-4; Tionne Rollins 2-5; Bryce Beamer 1-4; Alex Cox
1-6; Austin Harrell 0-2), Erskine 10-33 (Makayl Rakestraw 3-6; Jalen Canada
3-6; Jerome Stephens 2-11; Jalen Robinson 1-1; Jaylen Jennings 1-5; DJ Belin
0-1; Lanyc Shuler 0-2; Jaylen Prioleau 0-1). Fouled out--Francis
Marion-None, Erskine-Tavis Bridges. Rebounds--Francis Marion 48 (Bryce
Beamer 9), Erskine 43 (Jaylen Prioleau 15). Assists--Francis Marion 24
(Bryce Beamer 5), Erskine 12 (Lanyc Shuler 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion
22, Erskine 14. Technical fouls--None. A-147