FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore center Jonah Pierce scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to lead Francis Marion University to an 87-75 non-conference win over local-rival Coker University, Friday afternoon (Dec. 30) in the men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion avenged a season-opening loss to the Cobras and improves to 7-4 this season.  The Patriots will return to Conference Carolinas play with a Jan. 4 contest at Lees-McRae College, with a 7 p.m. tip-off.  The next game for FMU will be Saturday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m. against King University (Tenn.).
 
Pierce tallied his point total on 9-of-11 shooting, while he also handed out three assists and blocked two shots.  It marked his third double-double of the year and 13th of his young career.
 
Senior guard Alex Cox followed Pierce with 18 points, while senior guard Tionne Rollins scored 17 and senior forward Bryce Beamer 11.
 
Junior guard Tate Mulkey led Coker (8-6) with 25 points, including 8-of-14 shooting from behind the three-point arc.
 
Francis Marion shot a season-best 58.2 percent from the floor, 32-of-55.  That figure included a 9-of-20 showing from behind the arc.
 
The Patriots held Coker to 39.1 percent shooting from the field, including 13-of-38 from long range.
 
Pierce began his day with a dunk on the game's opening possession.  That helped Francis Marion to an early 8-4 advantage.  Coker rallied to go up 16-11 following a three-pointer by Xavier Moultrie.
 
The third of three consecutive triples by Mulkey preserved the Cobras' lead at 33-32 with 4:24 left in the first half.  Pierce put FMU ahead with an alley-oop lay-in, and that bucket began a 14-0 run to close the half and give the Patriots a 46-33 margin at halftime.
 
Coker closed to within single digits on only two occasions in the second half, at 46-38 and later at 52-43.  Following the second instance, the Patriots ran off nine straight points to take their largest lead of the game at 61-43 after a three-pointer by senior guard Doug Alves.  FMU equaled that margin later in the contest, at 81-63 after back-to-back three-pointers by Beamer.
 
FMU outrebounded the Cobras 40-27 and held a commanding 42-26 edge in points in the paint.

 
 
12/30/22 2:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 87, COKER 75
COKER (8-6,2-2 SAC)
Tate Mulkey 8-15 1-2 25; Jordan Jones 7-17 1-2 16; Mahmoud Bangura 3-6 4-4
10; Zavier Measmer 2-8 2-2 6; Ian Blue 2-6 0-0 6; Xavier  Moultrie 2-4 0-0
5; Marvin Brumfield 1-7 0-0 3; Glenn Bynum 1-4 0-0 2; Jamie Muldowney 1-2
0-0 2; William Asken 0-0 0-0 0; Thomas Tyler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 8-10 75.
FRANCIS MARION (7-4,4-1 Conferen)
Jonah Pierce 9-11 4-8 22; Alex Cox 7-10 3-6 18; Tionne Rollins 5-14 5-5 17;
Bryce Beamer 4-5 0-0 11; Yohan-Steve Yebga 2-2 1-1 5; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 2-3
0-0 5; Doug Alves 1-4 1-2 4; Darius Jones 1-3 0-1 3; Nick Silva 1-3 0-0 2;
Asante Turner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-55 14-23 87.
Halftime: Francis Marion 46 Coker 33
3-point goals--Coker 13-38 (Tate Mulkey 8-14; Ian Blue 2-6; Jordan Jones
1-5; Xavier  Moultrie 1-3; Marvin Brumfield 1-6; Zavier Measmer 0-4),
Francis Marion 9-20 (Bryce Beamer 3-3; Tionne Rollins 2-6; Darius Jones 1-3;
Doug Alves 1-4; Alex Cox 1-3; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-1). Fouled
out--Coker-None, Francis Marion-Farid SaintCyr Jr.. Rebounds--Coker 27
(Jordan Jones 8), Francis Marion 40 (Jonah Pierce 18). Assists--Coker 23
(Jordan Jones 13), Francis Marion 21 (Doug Alves 7; Tionne Rollins 7). Total
fouls--Coker 18, Francis Marion 13. Technical fouls—Francis Marion-Farid
SaintCyr Jr.; Bryce Beamer. A-211