SPARTANBURG, SC – Four Patriots scored in double-figures, but that would not be enough to help seventh-seeded Francis Marion University eliminate sixth-seeded Converse University as FMU fell 81-78, Monday night (Feb. 27) in the second round of the Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament.
 
Francis Marion finished its sophomore season as a member of Conference Carolinas, and first under head coach Jake Zehnder, with a 14-14 record.
 
FMU senior forward Bryce Beamer finished with 21 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc, and grabbed six rebounds. Senior guard Tionne Rollins scored 16, handed out five assists, and recorded three steals.
 
Sophomore center Jonah Pierce recorded the second post-season double-double of his Patriot career with 14 points, while hauling in 11 rebounds. He scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds in the opening-round versus King University (Tenn.) last post-season.
 
Senior guard Alex Cox played his final career game for red, white, and blue scoring 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting.  During the contest, he passed former Patriot center Allen Wilson to finish 17th on the FMU career scoring list with 1,077 points.
 
A 14-1 run by Converse during the final four minutes erased a five-point FMU lead and pushed the Valkyries (15-14) through to the tournament quarterfinals.
 
Tied 7-7 early in the first half, the Patriots rattled off six straight to lead 13-7 with 15:02 on the clock. Francis Marion held the lead until Converse nailed a three-pointer and a free throw to lead 23-22 with 10:19 remaining in the half. The Valkyries knocked two free throws through to expand their lead to three at 25-23, before an 8-0 run pushed the Patriots ahead at 30-25. Converse responded with an 8-0 run of their own to jump in front 33-30 with 3:25 left in the half.
 
Beamer cashed in a layup and a three-pointer to bounce FMU ahead 35-33 before the Valkyries scored four straight to lead 37-35 with 1:13 remaining in the half. A Pierce layup with 33 seconds to go, tied the score at 37-37 leading into halftime. Beamer scored 15 points in the opening stanza, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc, but was saddled with foul trouble much of the second half. The two sides combined for nine lead changes in the half.
 
Opening the second half, the Valkyries led by one at 43-42 until the Patriots sparked a 7-0 run to lead 49-43. Converse responded with nine straight jumping in front 52-49 with 15:20 on the clock. At 14:36, the Valkyries led by two at 54-52 before FMU would score the game's next eight points to grab a 60-54 with 10:35 remaining.
 
The Patriots held that lead for a while, even grabbing their largest lead of seven points on three occasions. After a Rollins driving layup at 71-66, the Valkyries screamed back with six straight points to lead by one with 2:56 remaining in the game. Converse converted four free throws at the charity stripe to extend their lead to seven at 78-71. A pair of three-pointers by Beamer in the final six seconds would not be enough as the Valkyries escaped.
 
Pierce scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, while Rollins scored 14 of his 16 over the final 20 minutes.
 
Guard Uzziah Dawkins and forward Bosko Bojovic both scored 20 points, while guard Nygel Boozer posted 19 points for Converse.
 
The Patriots made over half of their shots at a 52.5% rate, while the Valkyries converted 49.0% of their field goal attempts. FMU was 7-of-24 from behind the arc, while Converse shot 6-of-17. The Patriots outscored the Valkyries 21-7 on fast-break points.
 
 
02/27/23 7:00 pm at Spartanburg, SC
CONVERSE 81, FRANCIS MARION 78
FRANCIS MARION (14-14)
Bryce Beamer 8-11 0-1 21; Tionne Rollins 6-14 3-6 16; Jonah Pierce 6-10 2-2
14; Alex Cox 6-11 0-1 12; Doug Alves 3-4 0-0 7; Adonis Cole 2-4 0-0 4; Farid
SaintCyr Jr. 1-5 2-4 4; Yohan-Steve Yebga 0-0 0-0 0; Darius Jones 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 32-61 7-14 78.
CONVERSE (15-14)
Uzziah Dawkins 6-10 6-6 20; Bosko Bojovic 8-12 4-8 20; Nygel Boozer 5-8 6-8
19; Earl Burgess III 3-6 4-4 10; Elijah Pitts 2-5 0-0 5; Jay Mitchell 1-5
3-4 5; Trey Smith 0-1 2-3 2; Jordan Warlick 0-3 0-0 0; Aaron Porcil 0-1 0-0
0. Totals 25-51 25-33 81.
Halftime: 37-37
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-24 (Bryce Beamer 5-8; Doug Alves 1-2; Tionne
Rollins 1-7; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 0-3; Darius Jones 0-2; Alex Cox 0-2),
Converse 6-17 (Nygel Boozer 3-5; Uzziah Dawkins 2-3; Elijah Pitts 1-3; Jay
Mitchell 0-3; Trey Smith 0-1; Jordan Warlick 0-1; Bosko Bojovic 0-1). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Converse-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 32 (Jonah
Pierce 11), Converse 34 (Bosko Bojovic 8). Assists--Francis Marion 11
(Tionne Rollins 5), Converse 12 (Uzziah Dawkins 5). Total fouls--Francis
Marion 19, Converse 15. Technical fouls--Francis Marion-TEAM. A-300