WINGATE, NC – Wingate University connected on 21 of 36 second-half field goal attempts to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit and claim a 107-94 victory over Francis Marion University, Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 22) in non-conference men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (2-4) will return to the hardwood on next Wednesday (Nov. 29) for a 7:30 p.m. road contest at Newberry College.
 
Senior guard Tionne Rollins led the Patriots with a season-high 31 points – one shy of his career high – while handing out three assists and pilfering three steals.  He shot 8-of-16 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from behind the three-point line, and was a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line.  He moves within 26 points of 1,000 for his career.
 
Senior forward Bryce Beamer registered 24 points, on 10-of-17 shooting, and five rebounds, while junior swingman Ibrahim Wattara chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Forward Josh Massey led five Bulldogs in double figures with 29 points and eight rebounds, as Wingate improved to 3-1.
 
FMU shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 11-of-23 from three-point range, and was 19-of-29 at the foul line.  Wingate connected on 54.5 percent of its shots for the game, including 8-of-21 from long range, and was 27-of-34 at the free throw stripe.
 
After a tightly contested opening few minutes, Wingate opened a pair of six-point leads, and led 27-23 with 8:29 left in the opening half.  Francis Marion responded with a 20-5 spurt, that included nine points from Rollins, to assume a 43-32 advantage.  A tip-in by Marlow Gilmore Jr. that beat the halftime buzzer allowed the Patriots to retire to the locker room with a 53-43 lead.
 
Wingate answered with a 13-2 run to open the second half and took a 56-55 lead.  Two free throws by Rollins and a fast-break lay-in by freshman guard Horaces Jacques Jr. briefly returned the lead to FMU at 59-56, but an 11-1 spurt gave the advantage back to the Bulldogs at 67-60 with 13:34 remaining.  Altogether, Wingate outscored Francs Marion 24-7 over the first 6:26 of the second stanza.
 
A fast-break lay-up by Beamer later brought Francis Marion to within 81-76 with 8:25 left, but Wingate scored the next seven points to go back up by double digits.  Jacques Jr. rained in a three-pointer with four minutes on the clock to trim the margin to eight (92-84), but that was as close as the Patriots would get.
  
 
11/22/23 2 PM at Wingate, N.C.
WINGATE 107, FRANCIS MARION 94
FRANCIS MARION (2-4)
Tionne Rollins 8-16 9-9 31; Bryce Beamer 10-17 2-4 24; Ibrahim Wattara 4-12
2-2 10; Horaces Jacques Jr. 3-6 1-3 9; Marlow Gilmore Jr. 3-7 0-0 6; Niko
Noumeros 1-3 2-4 5; Adonis Cole 1-2 1-3 3; Willie Patterson III 0-1 2-4 2;
Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-2 0-0 2; Chandler O'Bannon 1-3 0-0 2; Matthew Lee 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 32-69 19-29 94.
WINGATE (3-1)
Massey, Josh 8-13 10-12 29; Nixon, Donell 7-9 4-4 21; Roberts, Vontrez 7-11
3-6 17; Hall, Aaron 5-8 1-2 11; Bell, Taylor 3-5 4-4 10; Taylor, Kendall 3-9
3-4 9; Miller, Jordan 2-5 2-2 7; Elmore, Sean 1-6 0-0 3; Barbour, Tyrese 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 36-66 27-34 107.
Halftime: Francis Marion 53  Wingate 43
3-point goals--Francis Marion 11-23 (Tionne Rollins 6-10; Horaces Jacques
Jr. 2-2; Bryce Beamer 2-6; Niko Noumeros 1-3; Willie Patterson III 0-1;
Marlow Gilmore Jr. 0-1), Wingate 8-21 (Nixon, Donell 3-4; Massey, Josh 3-5;
Miller, Jordan 1-4; Elmore, Sean 1-6; Bell, Taylor 0-1; Hall, Aaron 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 36
(Marlow Gilmore Jr. 9), Wingate 36 (Massey, Josh 8; Hall, Aaron 8).
Assists--Francis Marion 17 (Niko Noumeros 5), Wingate 19 (Nixon, Donell 6).
Total fouls--Francis Marion 22, Wingate 19. Technical fouls--None. A-111