FLORENCE, S.C. – Senior forward Bryce Beamer tallied a double-double with a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds, but Francis Marion University dropped an 88-73 decision to North Greenville University, Saturday (Feb. 18) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (13-12, 10-9) will finish the regular season at home on Wednesday (Feb.22) with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against the University of Mount Olive.  The Patriots will celebrate Senior Night and honor their one graduating player.
 
Beamer shot 14-of-20 from the floor, including 3-of-7 three pointers, and a perfect 1-of-1 from the free throw line. Senior guards Alex Cox and Tionne Rollins were the only Patriots to follow Beamer into double figures, posting 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Five Crusaders scored in double figures, with forward John Haddock Rogers leading the charge for North Greenville (7-20, 5-14) with 19 points.
 
In the opening minutes of the first half, FMU jumped out to a 12-5 lead, with Beamer rattling off nine points in three minutes.
 
A layup by Rogers in the paint gave the Crusaders their first lead of the game at 13-12. North Greenville, which would not trail again, grew its lead to as much as 17 points at the 8:23 mark, but Francis Marion was able to cut the deficit to 10 heading into the break (49-39).
 
Looking to respond in the second half, the Patriots were able to cut the deficit to single digits multiple times, but the Crusaders responded each time.  FMU cut the margin to 62-53 after a lay-up by Rollins with 11:50 remaining, but NGU rattled off the game's next eight points to lead 70-53.
 
The Crusaders made over half of their shots at a 55.9% rate, while the Patriots converted 45.6% of their field goal attempts. North Greenville nudged by Francis Marion in the rebounding category with a 36-33 advantage.

 
 
02/18/23 4:00 pm at Florence, SC
NORTH GREENVILLE 88, FRANCIS MARION 73
NORTH GREENVILLE (7-21,5-14 Confer)
John Haddock Rogers 8-11 0-0 19; Savion Brown 5-8 3-5 18; Seth Hewitt 6-8
3-4 15; Caleb Williams 6-10 1-2 13; David Muncy 4-7 3-7 12; C.J. Jamison 1-9
1-2 4; Mason Zick 2-4 0-0 4; Ayden Baker 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 33-59 11-20 88.
FRANCIS MARION (13-12,10-9 Confe)
Bryce Beamer 14-20 1-1 32; Alex Cox 6-11 0-0 12; Tionne Rollins 4-9 1-3 10;
Adonis Cole 4-9 0-1 8; Asante Turner 2-6 0-0 6; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-9 1-4
3; Jonah Pierce 0-2 2-8 2; Doug Alves 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 5-17 73.
Halftime: North Greenville 49 Francis Marion 39
3-point goals--North Greenville 11-20 (Savion Brown 5-8; John Haddock Rogers
3-3; Ayden Baker 1-2; C.J. Jamison 1-3; David Muncy 1-1; Mason Zick 0-2;
Seth Hewitt 0-1), Francis Marion 6-21 (Bryce Beamer 3-7; Asante Turner 2-4;
Tionne Rollins 1-3; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-4; Alex Cox 0-3). Fouled out--North
Greenville-None, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--North Greenville 36 (C.J.
Jamison 8; Seth Hewitt 8), Francis Marion 33 (Bryce Beamer 11).
Assists--North Greenville 21 (Caleb Williams 7), Francis Marion 15 (Asante
Turner 5). Total fouls--North Greenville 16, Francis Marion 17. Technical
fouls--None. A-1113