FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University erased a 17-point second-half deficit, but fell 86-84 to Chowan University in the final second of the game, Tuesday (Jan. 30) night in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action.
 
The Patriots will return on Saturday (Feb. 3) against Southern Wesleyan University in the Smith University Center. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
 
Senior forward Bryce Beamer lead Francis Marion with 22 points while also picking up a career-high of 16 rebounds.
 
Senior guard Tionne Rollins tallied 19 points, while senior forward Marlow Gilmore Jr. recorded 8-of-10 shooting from the field and accumulated 18 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The final Patriot scoring in double digits was freshman guard Horaces Jacques Jr. with 14 points and a career-high 10 assists.
 
Francis Marion (9-10, 7-4) held the advantage over Chowan in rebounds, 46-37. Outscoring Chowan 45-31 in the second half, FMU held the Hawks to a 39.3 field goal percentage.
 
Preston Le Gassick paced the Hawks with 21 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field.
 
Opening the first half, Chowan (13-7, 7-4) entered hot, rattling off 11 points in comparison to Francis Marion's four. The Hawks expanded their margin to 18 points, at 30-12.
 
Francis Marion trailed by 16 (55-39) at halftime despite both teams shooting 50.0 percent from the floor over the opening 20 minutes.
 
Shortly after beginning the second half, Francis Marion went on a seven-point run with buckets from Beamer, Rollins, and Gilmore Jr, cutting the lead down to 10 points (58-48). Chowan would extend its lead back to 17 points (65-48) with 15:56 remaining.  Jacques Jr. capped a 16-6 Patriot run with a floater in the lane, drawing FMU to within 75-70 with eight minutes left.
 
With a two-handed throw down from Gilmore Jr., the Patriots came within reaching distance of the Hawks at 78-74. Closing the gap even more, Beamer sank a jumper from just inside the paint after snatching the ball from several Chowan players and the margin was 81-79.
 
Rollins brought the game to a deadlock at 84-84 with a deep three-point shot with 1:17 left. After both teams came up empty on their next possessions, Chowan called a final time-out with 8.9 seconds left on the clock.  The Hawks inbounded to guard Daylan Askew, who sank a final mid-range jumper with less than a second remaining for the deciding bucket.

 
 
01/30/24 7:30 pm at Florence, SC
CHOWAN 86, FRANCIS MARION 84
CHOWAN (13-7, 7-4)
Preston Le Gassick 7-13 5-7 21; Daylan Askew 7-15 3-6 18; Skyler Davies 8-11
1-1 18; RJ Wilson 5-13 0-2 11; Aaron Ross 2-6 1-2 6; Keith Reese Jr. 2-3 0-0
5; Eric Gordon Jr. 1-6 0-0 3; Damerius Summers 1-4 0-0 2; Cheick Traore 1-3
0-0 2. Totals 34-74 10-18 86.
FRANCIS MARION (9-10, 7-4)
Bryce Beamer 9-20 3-4 22; Tionne Rollins 8-14 0-0 19; Marlow Gilmore Jr.
8-10 2-2 18; Horaces Jacques Jr. 5-17 2-2 14; Willie Patterson III 2-7 2-2
6; Adonis Cole 1-3 3-5 5; Chandler O'Bannon 0-0 0-2 0; Niko Noumeros 0-1 0-1
0. Totals 33-72 12-18 84.
Chowan........................   55   31  -   86
Francis Marion.............   39   45  -   84
3-point goals--Chowan 8-22 (Preston Le Gassick 2-6; Skyler Davies 1-2;
Daylan Askew 1-6; Keith Reese Jr. 1-2; Aaron Ross 1-2; RJ Wilson 1-3; Eric
Gordon Jr. 1-1), Francis Marion 6-22 (Tionne Rollins 3-7; Horaces Jacques
Jr. 2-9; Bryce Beamer 1-5; Willie Patterson III 0-1). Fouled
out--Chowan-None, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--Chowan 37 (RJ Wilson 12),
Francis Marion 46 (Bryce Beamer 16). Assists--Chowan 16 (Daylan Askew 7),
Francis Marion 18 (Horaces Jacques Jr. 10). Total fouls--Chowan 22, Francis
Marion 16. Technical fouls--None. A-700