FLORENCE, SC – Junior guard Jordan Simpson led Francis Marion University in an 85-76 defeat of Columbus State University on Wednesday (Nov. 13) night with a game-high of 23 points, connecting on 8-of-11 field goals and shooting 50 percent from beyond the three-point line.
 
The Patriots (1-2) will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday (Nov. 16) to compete against Winston-Salem State University with a tip-off time of 4 p.m.
 
Recording his first double-double of the 2024-25 season, sophomore guard Horaces Jacques Jr. tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Alex Atkinson also connected on 60 percent of shots from the floor and chipped in another 13 points and a game-high four blocks.
 
Junior guard Jordyn Surratt paced Francis Marion with nine assists, while junior 6-9 swingman AJ Hamrick scored 13 points and senior forward Ibrahim Wattara 10.
 
Jehloni James led the Cougars (2-1) with 19 points and Kordell Brown scored seven points and corralled eight rebounds.
 
Francis Marion led only once in the early going, 10-7 after a three-pointer by Hamrick, and the Cougars led most of the opening half, including a six-point margin once.  Trailing 31-27, Atkinson helped spark an 8-0 run by the Patriots to go up 35-31. Francis Marion used a lay-in by Atkinson with two seconds left to lead 43-38 at halftime.
 
FMU used an early second half run of 8-0 to extend the lead to 14 points at 53-39. Hamrick widened the margin to 17 points with a three-pointer from the corner as the Patriots led 60-43.
 
A pair of made free throws from Simpson gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the night at 24 points (69-45) as CSU missed 20 of its first 22 field goal attempts in the second stanza. Despite the Cougars working to trim the lead, Francis Marion held the advantage for the remainder of the contest. Columbus State was able to bring the score back within nine points with a game-closing 15-2 spurt.
 
FMU shot 50.8 percent from the floor, while holding CSU to 39.0 percent shooting.