BANNER ELK, NC – A fiery second-half start for Francis Marion University was not enough to take down Lees-McRae College as the Patriots fell 84-74 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball play on Friday night (Feb. 4).
 
FMU (8-11, 6-11) will stay in the Appalachians to face King (Tenn.) University on Saturday (Feb. 5) at 4:30 p.m.
 
Three-time Conference Carolinas Freshmen of the Month center Jonah Pierce led the Patriots with 21 points, picked up three steals and blocked two shots. Pierce shot 7-of-12 from the floor and knocked down 6-of-8 from the stripe. Freshmen forward Nick Silva trailed with 15 points and pulled in seven rebounds, while junior guard Tionne Rollins posted 12 points and grabbed three steals.
 
Timon Jones led Lees-McRae (12-7, 10-6) with 20 points and Gabe Bryant would follow with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 
 
FMU freshmen guard Jose Benitez posted the first two points of the night for the Patriots and this would be the only lead FMU would hold in the first half. The Bobcats would claw back with two buckets by Jones from behind the arc to push Lees-McRae ahead 6-2.
 
The Patriots brought the score to a tie four times after the 6-2 start by the Bobcats. A pair of Silva two-pointers, a senior guard Alex Cox lay-in and a graduate student Neija Jordan three would assist in those ties. A Pierce layup and a Cox three-pointer would help reel the Patriots back in to a six-point deficit going into halftime.
 
Back-to-back three pointers to start the second half from Pierce and Silva would even the score at 41-41 until a Pierce dunk pushed the Patriots ahead 43-41 going into a timeout. Jones would help the Bobcats reclaim the lead after nailing a three-pointer making the score (44-43).
 
FMU fought back after a Rollins' three-pointer and Pierce knocked down his two free throws to even the score at 48-48. A floating jump shot from freshmen guard Jose Benitez put the Patriots in the lead (50-48). Jaylin Stewart for LMC sunk a three-pointer to give the Bobcats the lead (53-50). A shot from behind the arc by Benitez evened the score for the Patriots, but shortly after the lead would be reclaimed after a Carter Phillips three for the Bobcats (56-53).
 
The Patriots would not reclaim the lead after the Phillips shot, but would bring the score within three on two occasions, after a Rollins' jumper with 7:17 left and a layup by Silva with 2:30 left in the second half.
 
FMU finished the contest shooting 38.2% from the field, while LMC finished 46.6% from the floor. The Patriots knocked down 32.3% from the arc and the Bobcats sunk 50%. Francis Marion hit 6-of-10 from the free throw line, and Lees-McRae sank 19-of-22.
 
 
02/04/22 7:00 pm at Banner Elk, NC
LEES-MCRAE 84, FRANCIS MARION 74
FRANCIS MARION (8-11,6-11 Confer)
Jonah Pierce 7-12 6-8 21; Nick Silva 6-16 0-2 15; Tionne Rollins 5-10 0-0
12; Jose Benitez 4-10 0-0 9; Alex Cox 3-11 0-0 8; Nieja Jordan 1-3 0-0 3;
Matthew Lee 1-3 0-0 2; Yohan-Steve Yebga 1-3 0-0 2; Ja'Von Anderson 1-4 0-0
2; Nari Jordan 0-0 0-0 0; Asante Turner 0-0 0-0 0; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-4
0-0 0. Totals 29-76 6-10 74.
LEES-MCRAE (12-7,10-6 Confer)
Timon Jones 7-12 0-0 20; Gabe Bryant 4-8 4-5 12; Drew Gardner 2-5 6-6 11;
Malik McConnell 1-3 8-8 10; Cale Harris 4-8 0-0 8; Jaylin Stewart 3-4 0-0 7;
Justin Nichelson 2-3 0-1 6; London England 2-6 0-0 5; Sidney Dollar 1-3 1-2
3; Follie Bogan 1-6 0-0 2; Keith Holmes Jr. 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 19-22 84.
Halftime: Lees-McRae 41 Francis Marion 35
3-point goals--Francis Marion 10-31 (Nick Silva 3-8; Tionne Rollins 2-7;
Alex Cox 2-7; Jose Benitez 1-3; Jonah Pierce 1-2; Nieja Jordan 1-1; Farid
SaintCyr Jr. 0-1; Ja'Von Anderson 0-2), Lees-McRae 11-22 (Timon Jones 6-10;
Justin Nichelson 2-3; London England 1-5; Jaylin Stewart 1-1; Drew Gardner
1-3). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Lees-McRae-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 34 (Nick Silva 7), Lees-McRae 49 (Gabe Bryant 10). Assists--Francis
Marion 19 (Jose Benitez 5), Lees-McRae 17 (Malik McConnell 7). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 22, Lees-McRae 14. Technical fouls--Francis
Marion-Nieja Jordan, Lees-McRae-Cale Harris. A-631