FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore guard Clayton Williams hit the second of a two-shot trip to the foul line with 32 seconds left to give Francis Marion University its only lead of the second half, and the Patriots then watched Lander University miss four free throws in the final 16 seconds as FMU hung on for a 77-76 Peach Belt Conference victory, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 9) in men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion improves to 9-10 overall and 4-8 in conference play and moves to within a game-and-a-half of fourth place in the PBC's East Division standings.  The Patriots, winners of five of their last eight games, will entertain the University of North Georgia on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
 
Junior guard Evrik Gary paced FMU with 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting.  His point total was one shy of his career high and moved him into 14th place on the Patriots' career scoring list, passing Mullins product Allen Wilson, with 1,067 points.
 
Ironically, it was a group of youth league players from the Mullins area who aided in the Patriots' win on Saturday.  The group of youngsters, located behind Lander's basket in the second half, cheered loudly and wilding as the Bearcats missed on the four attempts to tie or win the game in the final seconds.
 
Junior guard Tyler Deihl added 11 points and five assists for FMU, while junior forward Antonio Freeman registered nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
 
Junior forward Darius Carrier led Lander (6-14, 1-12) with 22 points, while senior David Pruett scored 15 and Jareal Smith 13.  Sophomore forward Dermaine Smith recorded a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
 
The two teams traded jabs in the early going, and after a layup by junior guard Chris Rhodes, the Patriots held a 20-19 advantage midway through the first half.  Lander answered with six straight points and the Bearcats would not trail again until the final minute of the game.
 
Lander held a 37-29 advantage at intermission after shooting 53.8 percent over the first 20 minutes.
 
FMU's outside shooting warmed in the second stanza as the Patriots hit 5-of-11 three-point attempts after managing only 3-of-14 in the opening stanza.
 
Lander opened a 12-point margin early in the second half, but a 10-2 Patriot spurt trimmed the lead to 45-41.  A three-pointer by Deihl further cut the deficit to 58-57 with 10:01 left, but Lander responded by pulling out to an eight-point lead at the 6:44 mark.
 
The margin was six points (76-70) when Rhodes converted a lay in and Robert Carpenter came up with a steal and layup to bring FMU to within 76-74 with 1:51 remaining.  The Patriots forced a miss on the ensuing Lander possession and Gary tied the game with a short 10-foot jumper to the right of the lane with just under a minute left.
 
Williams came up with a steal on the next Bearcat possession and hit the deciding free throw with 32 ticks on the clock.  Lander's Dermaine Smith was fouled on a jump shot with 16 seconds remaining, but missed both charity shots.  FMU rebounded the second miss but turned the ball over allowing Lander a second chance.  Carpenter blocked a layup by Jareal Smith, but Carrier grabbed the miss and Pruett, ranked 29th nationally in free throw shooting at 87 percent, was fouled on a baseline shot with one-tenth of a second left.  He missed both shots and Freeman grabbed the second miss to secure the win.
 
FMU finished the game at 48.1 percent shooting, after a sizzling 57.7 percent effort over the final 20 minutes.  The Patriots hit on 17-of-21 free throws, including 13-of-15 in the second half.
 
Francis Marion committed only 13 turnovers and led 20-11 in points-off-turnovers and 18-4 in fast-break points.
 
The game was the 88th all-time meeting between the two old rivals.
 
2/9/13 3:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
At Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. 77, LANDER UNIVERSITY 76
LANDER UNIVERSITY (6-14 , 1-12 PBC)
Darius Carrier 9-11 4-4 22; David Pruett 4-11 5-9 15; Jareal Smith 5-10 3-4
13; Dermaine Smith 5-10 1-4 11; Chidozie Omile 2-6 0-0 6; Jamal Branco 2-4
0-0 4; Carlos Trotty 1-3 0-0 3; Mario Pendarvis 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-57
13-21 76.
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. (9-10 , 4-8 PBC)
Evrik Gary 11-19 6-7 31; Tyler Deihl 3-10 2-2 11; Antonio Freeman 4-6 1-2 9;
Chris Rhodes 3-3 2-2 8; Robert Carpenter 2-6 4-4 8; Clayton Williams 2-5 1-2
6; Dustin Jones 1-5 0-0 3; Alex Tucker 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 26-54 17-21 77.
Halftime: Lander 37 Francis Marion 29
3-point goals--Lander University 5-16 (Chidozie Omile 2-5; David Pruett 2-6;
Carlos Trotty 1-3; Dermaine Smith 0-1; Jareal Smith 0-1), Francis Marion
Univ. 8-25 (Tyler Deihl 3-9; Evrik Gary 3-6; Dustin Jones 1-4; Clayton
Williams 1-4; Robert Carpenter 0-2). Fouled out--Lander University-None,
Francis Marion Univ.-Clayton Williams. Rebounds--Lander University 33
(Dermaine Smith 16), Francis Marion Univ. 25 (Antonio Freeman 11).
Assists--Lander University 19 (David Pruett 5; Carlos Trotty 5), Francis
Marion Univ. 11 (Tyler Deihl 5). Total fouls--Lander University 18, Francis
Marion Univ. 16. Technical fouls--Francis Marion Bench. A-662

Charges drawn: Gary, Branco