FLORENCE, SC – A pair of free throws from junior guard Tionne Rollins with 17 seconds left pushed Francis Marion University to a thrilling 80-78 victory over Emmanuel College, Saturday (Feb. 19) afternoon in Conference Carolinas men's basketball play.
 
The Patriots even their overall mark at 12-12 and improved to 10-12 in league play, while the second-place Lions fall to 18-8 and 17-5.  Emmanuel entered the contest ranked 10th in the most recent Southeast Region poll.
 
FMU will head to Belmont, N.C., to face Belmont Abbey College on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., before hosting the University of Mount Olive in the regular-season finale on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
 
Rollins led the Patriots with 23 points, six assists, seven rebounds, and three steals as he played all but a minute-and-a-half of the overtime contest. Freshmen 6-8 center Jonah Pierce followed behind with 14 points (on 7-of-11 shooting) and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Ja'Von Anderson and freshmen forward Nick Silva both recorded 13 points.
 
Emmanuel forward Jayvion Rucker led the Lions with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while guards Kelvin Jones and Brandon Simpson both tallied 13 points.
  
The Patriots trailed 70-62 with only 1:49 left, rallied to force overtime on a 19-foot jumper by Anderson with two seconds left in regulation.  The comeback included four free throws from Silva and two more by Anderson all in a 56-second span.
 
In the extra session, Rollins opened the scoring with a pull-up jumper and the Patriots never trailed again.  The margin reached 78-74 following a driving lay-up by Anderson off a feed from Rollins with 1:26 on the clock.  A dunk by Rucker and two free throws by Jones knotted the score with 22 ticks left.  Rollins was then fouled and made both free throws and Rucker missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the other end.
 
FMU started the game off with a Silva three-pointer to put FMU on the board first (3-0). A three-point play by Simpson helped the Lions even the score at 5-5. FMU freshmen guard Jose Benitez pushed the Patriots ahead by two after a second-chance jump shot, but was answered by Rucker for the Lions who helped Emmanuel push ahead by two (7-9).
 
FMU pushed its lead back up to seven after a Silva free throw at 18-11, but the Lions grabbed back the lead after a Jasper Gibson fast-break three pointer (24-21). Emmanuel held that lead up until the 4:21 minute when Patriot senior guard Alex Cox sank a fast-break three-pointer to put FMU on top 29-27, and the Patriots would go into halftime with a 36-32 advantage.
 
Francis Marion would begin the second half by extending its lead to five after a Cox three-pointer at 39-34. Emmanuel rallied to even the score a few times before fully grasping the lead at the 16:13 minute after a stick-back hoop by Rucker at 44-43.
 
Trailing 50-43, Rollins (8) and Pierce (4) combined for a 12-0 run that gave the Patriots a 55-50 margin with 11:24 left. FMU would hold that lead until the 7:14 minute when Emmanuel's Isaiah Foster drained a three-pointer to regain the lead for the Lions at 60-59.
 
 
The Patriots shot 46.0 percent from the field, while the Lions knocked down 40.4 percent of their shots. At the stripe, FMU nailed 17-of-24, while Emmanuel hit 27-of-41.
 
 
02/19/22 4:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 80, EMMANUEL (GA) 78
EMMANUEL (GA) (18-8,17-5 Confer)
Jayvion Rucker 7-16 5-7 19; Kelvin Jones 2-10 8-12 13; Brandon Simpson 4-8
4-7 13; Tyonn Stuckey 5-8 2-4 12; Kendall Latney 3-3 2-2 9; Isaiah Foster
1-4 4-6 7; Jasper Gibson 1-4 0-0 3; Michael Wright 0-3 2-3 2; Jackson Bailey
0-0 0-0 0; Nick Strachan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 27-41 78.
FRANCIS MARION (12-12,10-12 Conf)
Tionne Rollins 8-20 5-7 23; Jonah Pierce 7-11 0-0 14; Nick Silva 2-7 8-11
13; Ja'Von Anderson 5-9 3-3 13; Alex Cox 3-7 1-1 9; Yohan-Steve Yebga 2-3
0-2 4; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-3 0-0 2; Jose Benitez 1-2 0-0 2; Nieja Jordan
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-63 17-24 80.
Halftime: Francis Marion 36 Emmanuel (GA) 32 ; Regulation: 70-70
3-point goals--Emmanuel (GA) 5-24 (Kendall Latney 1-1; Kelvin Jones 1-5;
Brandon Simpson 1-3; Jasper Gibson 1-4; Isaiah Foster 1-3; Michael Wright
0-3; Tyonn Stuckey 0-2; Jayvion Rucker 0-3), Francis Marion 5-22 (Tionne
Rollins 2-6; Alex Cox 2-4; Nick Silva 1-4; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-1; Jose
Benitez 0-1; Nieja Jordan 0-1; Ja'Von Anderson 0-4; Jonah Pierce 0-1).
Fouled out--Emmanuel (GA)-None, Francis Marion-Jonah Pierce; Nick Silva.
Rebounds--Emmanuel (GA) 39 (Jayvion Rucker 11), Francis Marion 37 (Tionne
Rollins 7; Jonah Pierce 7). Assists--Emmanuel (GA) 12 (Kelvin Jones 3),
Francis Marion 15 (Tionne Rollins 6). Total fouls--Emmanuel (GA) 22, Francis
Marion 26. Technical fouls--Emmanuel (GA)-Brandon Simpson, Francis
Marion-Jonah Pierce. A-811