FLORENCE, SC – A career-high 31 points by 6-3 senior guard Alex Cox led Francis Marion University to a come-from-behind 86-80 overtime win over Belmont Abbey College to remain perfect in conference play, Saturday evening (Dec. 3) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (5-3, 3-0) will pause for finals week before traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., on Dec. 14 for a matchup with Converse University. The victory was also the first-ever for FMU over the historic Belmont Abbey program in seven meetings. It gives FMU sole possession of first place, with two other squads also unbeaten at 2-0.
 
The outcome dropped Belmont Abbey from the tie for first place in the conference standings, handing the Crusaders (3-5, 2-1) their first conference loss this season.
 
Cox connected on 12-of-20 shots, including five three-point makes, and hauled down six rebounds.  FMU senior guard Tionne Rollins backed up Cox in scoring with 16 points, while 6-5 senior forward Bryce Beamer scored 14, and 6-8 sophomore center Jonah Pierce 10.
 
Both Beamer and Pierce contributed in other ways besides scoring, hauling in seven and eight rebounds, respectively, while Pierce also hosted a block party with four of his own. Rollins tallied six steals on the night, while 5-8 senior guard Doug Alves dished out a team-high five assists.
 
Senior forward Charles Solomon led Belmont Abbey with 24 points.
 
With five lead changes and six ties in the opening half, Wade Jackson hit a three-point jumper to give Belmont Abbey a 14-13 lead heading into the first media timeout. After a second-chance layup by Beamer to tie the game 20-20, the Crusaders went on a 16-9 run to close the half with a 36-29 advantage.
 
After trimming the Belmont Abbey lead to four points at 40-36 with 17:52 left, Cox went on his own 10-0 run, putting the Patriots ahead 46-40 for the first time in the second stanza.  Both teams then traded shots throughout the second half, with Belmont Abbey building a 7-point lead at 69-62 with 2:24 remaining in regulation.
 
FMU was able to rally to force overtime.  Rollins drained three free throws with 39 ticks left to pull the Patriots within 71-70.  Down 72-70, Rollins rebounded his own miss and was fouled.  He hit both free throws with two seconds left to send the Smith University Center into overtime.
 
After the Patriots went up 76-74 in the extra period – on a Cox stick-back – the Crusaders were unable to mount a comeback, ultimately falling 86-80.  Cox accounted for seven points in the extra session, while sophomore forward Nick Silva came off the bench to score five of his nine points.
 
FMU outscored Belmont Abbey 23-13 in transition, 23-8 in points off turnovers, 44-38 in points-in-the-paint, 15-8 in points from the bench, and held a sizable 26-9 advantage in second-chance points. The Patriots wreaked havoc on the Crusaders offense, forcing Belmont Abbey to turn the ball over 22 times.
 
Francis Marion shot 40 percent from the floor, including 7-of-31 from three-point range, and was 15-of-19 at the free throw stripe.  Belmont Abbey hit 48.4 percent of their field goal attempts, including 7-of-23 from behind the arc, and drained 13-of-22 at the foul line.

 
 
12/03/22 4:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 86, BELMONT ABBEY 80 in OT
BELMONT ABBEY (3-5, 2-1)
Charles Solomon 8-14 8-14 24; Ryan Maslow 6-10 0-1 16; Mason Taylor 6-12 0-0
14; Mario Lacy, Jr. 5-7 0-0 10; Wade Jackson 2-8 3-5 8; Kyle Frazier 2-6 2-2
6; Blake Hadley 1-4 0-0 2; Lucas Saleh 0-0 0-0 0; Jaylen Jones 0-1 0-0 0;
Tom Stanley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-62 13-22 80.
FRANCIS MARION (5-3, 3-0)
Alex Cox 12-20 2-2 31; Tionne Rollins 5-17 5-5 16; Bryce Beamer 5-15 3-3 14;
Jonah Pierce 5-8 0-0 10; Nick Silva 2-3 5-8 9; Yohan-Steve Yebga 1-2 0-1 2;
Doug Alves 1-9 0-0 2; Darius Jones 1-3 0-0 2; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-3 0-0 0.
Totals 32-80 15-19 86.
Halftime: Belmont Abbey 36 Francis Marion 29. Regulation 72-72.
3-point goals--Belmont Abbey 7-23 (Ryan Maslow 4-8; Mason Taylor 2-4; Wade
Jackson 1-5; Jaylen Jones 0-1; Kyle Frazier 0-4; Charles Solomon 0-1),
Francis Marion 7-31 (Alex Cox 5-9; Bryce Beamer 1-8; Tionne Rollins 1-6;
Doug Alves 0-5; Darius Jones 0-2; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-1). Fouled
out--Belmont Abbey-Mason Taylor, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--Belmont
Abbey 45 (Mario Lacy, Jr. 14), Francis Marion 41 (Jonah Pierce 8).
Assists--Belmont Abbey 19 (Wade Jackson 6), Francis Marion 16 (Doug Alves
5). Total fouls--Belmont Abbey 19, Francis Marion 18. Technical
fouls--Belmont Abbey-Mario Lacy, Jr. A-275