WILSON, NC – Fifth-year senior guard Alex Cox scored a team-high 26 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau, but Francis Marion University fell in the final seconds to Barton College 93-92, Wednesday (Feb. 15) night in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (13-11, 10-9), tied for sixth in conference standings, returns home to the Smith University Center for its final two games of the regular season.  That begins with a 4 p.m. Homecoming tip-off on Saturday (Feb.18) against North Greenville University.
 
Cox shot 7-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and was 8-of-10 at the foul line.  He also finished the game with six assists and five rebounds. Senior guard Tionne Rollins and sophomore center Jonah Pierce both scored 18 points, with Pierce grabbing eight rebounds and Rollins dishing out five assists. Senior forward Bryce Beamer tallied 17 points on 5-8 shooting from behind the arc.
 
Bulldog guard Marcus Boykin contributed 33 points for Barton (15-10, 13-5).
 
Two free throws by Rollins gave FMU a 91-88 advantage with 40 seconds left.  After a Bulldog bucket at the other end, Cox made one of two free throws with 19 ticks remaining to give the Patriots a 92-90 margin. 
 
Boykin converted a three-point play with nine seconds left to erase that lead and on the final possession FMU had a layup blocked and the ball went out of bounds.  With 1.1 seconds on the clock, the inbounds pass was knocked away and time ran out.
 
FMU and Barton battled neck-and-neck throughout the first half, with neither squad able to establish much of a lead, until Cox hit three-straight three pointers in sixty-nine seconds to become the 22nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point club. The three-pointer to reach the milestone gave Francis Marion a 41-36 advantage with just over three minutes to go until halftime.  FMU eventually headed to the locker room with a 46-40 lead.
 
Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs were able to bring the margin down to as close as one point with just under 15 minutes remaining, before a 20-9 run gave FMU its largest lead of the game at 83-70 with 6:17 on the clock.
 
The Bulldogs, sparked by Boykin, immediately responded with a 23-9 run of their own to close out 93-92 win.
 
FMU snatched a 39-34 advantage on the glass over Barton. Francis Marion shot 46.9 percent from the floor, including 13-of-38 attempts from three-point range. The Bulldogs drained 54.3 percent of their shots, connecting on six from beyond the arc.
 
As a team, the Patriots converted 19-of-25 from the charity stripe, while the Bulldogs efficiently drained 11-14.
 
 
02/15/23 7:00 pm at Wilson, NC
BARTON 89, FRANCIS MARION 92
FRANCIS MARION (13-11, 10-8)
Alex Cox 7-13 8-10 26; Tionne Rollins 5-15 5-5 18; Jonah Pierce 8-12 2-4 18;
Bryce Beamer 5-9 2-2 17; Asante Turner 2-7 2-4 7; Yohan-Steve Yebga 1-1 0-0
2; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-5 0-0 2; Adonis Cole 1-1 0-0 2; Doug Alves 0-1 0-0
0. Totals 30-64 19-25 92.
BARTON (15-10, 13-5)
Marcus Boykin 13-21 5-5 33; Donaven Hairston 4-13 5-7 14; Reese McDonald 6-9
0-0 12; Trevon Spencer 5-10 0-0 10; Caleb Reams 2-2 1-2 6; Shawn Nelson 2-7
0-0 5; Gabe Kirkendoll 2-2 0-0 5; Carson Croom 2-2 0-0 4; Dwayne Anderson
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-66 11-14 89.
Halftime: Francis Marion 46 Barton 40
3-point goals--Francis Marion 13-31 (Bryce Beamer 5-8; Alex Cox 4-7; Tionne
Rollins 3-8; Asante Turner 1-5; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-3), Barton 6-14 (Marcus
Boykin 2-4; Shawn Nelson 1-1; Donaven Hairston 1-4; Caleb Reams 1-1; Gabe
Kirkendoll 1-1; Trevon Spencer 0-2; Reese McDonald 0-1). Fouled out--Francis
Marion-None, Barton-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 39 (Jonah Pierce 8),
Barton 32 (Marcus Boykin 8). Assists--Francis Marion 26 (Alex Cox 6), Barton
25 (Reese McDonald 15). Total fouls--Francis Marion 11, Barton 15. Technical
fouls--Francis Marion-Jonah Pierce. A-425