Box Score BRISTOL, TN – Freshman guard
Horaces Jacques Jr. paced Francis Marion University with a career high 24 points in a 98-87 defeat of King University on Saturday (Jan 6), as the Patriots advanced to 5-8 overall and 3-2 in Conference Carolinas play.
FMU returns to the court on Tuesday (Jan. 9) against Barton College in Florence, S.C. for its first home game of the year. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
After nearly posting a triple-double in the Patriots' last contest, Jacques Jr. – a native of Orangeburg, S.C. – notched his career high on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and was 8-of-9 at the foul line.
Senior forward
Bryce Beamer followed with 19 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor. Fellow senior guard
Tionne Rollins registered 13 points, while grabbing seven boards for Francis Marion.
FMU junior forward
Ibrahim Wattara and senior forward
Marlow Gilmore Jr. collected 15 points apiece and freshman forward
Willie Patterson III chipped in 10 points. Gilmore Jr. shot 7-of-9 from the floor after going 12-for-12 in last Wednesday's contest. Sophomore forward
Adonis Cole led FMU with a career-high nine rebounds.
The Patriots collected a total of 45 rebounds compared to King's 37. With an impressive 54.0 field goal percentage, FMU held the Tornado to just 38.7 shooting.
Pacing the Tornado with 27 points was Jordan Akal. Kenny Turner chipped in an additional 21 points for King (2-10, 0-5).
Both Rollins and Jacques Jr. would tally their first buckets with three-pointers, with FMU jumping out to an early lead. Despite that advantage, the Tornado bounced back to take a four-point lead.
There would be a total of seven lead changes in the first half, Francis Marion staying ahead for 9:52 minutes of the half. Francis Marion and King entered halftime tied at 39-39 after the Tornado closed the stanza with an 8-0 run.
Francis Marion took the lead for good at 55-52 after Beamer drained in a three-pointer from the corner. The margin was still one possession with 8:30 left when the Patriots gained traction with a 12-0 run, including five points from Jacques Jr.
FMU equaled its largest lead at 92-76 on a pair of free throws by junior guard
Niko Noumeros.
The Patriots shot 22-of-29 from the free throw line, while King connected on 22 out of 31.
01/06/24 4:00 pm at Bristol, TN
FRANCIS MARION 98, KING (TN) 87
FRANCIS MARION (5-8, 3-2)
Horaces Jacques Jr. 7-11 8-9 24;
Bryce Beamer 6-12 4-4 19;
Ibrahim Wattara
6-9 3-3 15;
Marlow Gilmore Jr. 7-9 1-2 15;
Tionne Rollins 4-10 3-4 13;
Willie Patterson III 4-10 2-5 10;
Niko Noumeros 0-0 2-2 2;
Adonis Cole 0-2
0-0 0;
Chandler O'Bannon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-63 23-29 98.
KING (TN) (2-11, 0-5)
Jordan Akal 10-20 2-2 27; Kenny Turner 6-12 9-13 21; Mikhail Pocknett 6-16
7-12 19; Seth Cullen 4-10 0-0 9; Cam George 1-6 2-2 5; Amarius Beasley 2-6
0-0 4; Dami Farinloye 0-3 2-2 2; Almando Cyrius 0-1 0-0 0; Eli Elston 0-0
0-0 0; Josh Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-75 22-31 87.
Francis Marion............ 39 59 - 98
King (TN)..................... 39 48 - 87
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-17 (
Bryce Beamer 3-5;
Tionne Rollins 2-3;
Horaces Jacques Jr. 2-6;
Willie Patterson III 0-2;
Adonis Cole 0-1), King
(TN) 7-23 (Jordan Akal 5-9; Cam George 1-3; Seth Cullen 1-3; Amarius Beasley
0-1; Dami Farinloye 0-1; Almando Cyrius 0-1; Josh Jackson 0-1; Mikhail
Pocknett 0-4). Fouled out--Francis Marion-
Bryce Beamer, King (TN)-Seth
Cullen. Rebounds--Francis Marion 45 (
Adonis Cole 9), King (TN) 37 (Kenny
Turner 10). Assists--Francis Marion 17 (
Horaces Jacques Jr. 5), King (TN) 10
(Mikhail Pocknett 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 22, King (TN) 24.
Technical fouls--None. A-223
