FLORENCE, SC – Senior guard
Ibrahim Wattara tallied a career-high 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting as Francis Marion University opened Conference Carolinas action with an 82-77 victory over Converse University on Saturday evening (Nov. 23).
Francis Marion (3-3, 1-0) will host 18th-ranked University of North Georgia on Tuesday (Nov. 26) with a 2 p.m. tip-off time.
FMU junior forward
Latavian Lawrence recorded a season-high 16 points as he connected on 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Junior guard
Jordyn Surratt registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman guard
Jeremiah Jacques directed the FMU offense with five assists, while scoring seven and grabbing six rebounds. Wattara (2) and Jacques (2) combined for four of the 10 steals. Wattara was 11-of-13 at the free throw stripe.
Francis Marion held Converse (1-3, 0-1) to a 37.1 field goal percentage, while the Patriots shot 45.2 percent.
Valkyrie senior guard Isac Ahnstrand paced Converse with 18 points.
Freshman guard
Tavaris Bell opened the first half with a three-pointer from the wing, putting the Patriots in front of the Valkyries early, a lead they would never relinquish. Just five minutes into the contest, FMU canned six of its first seven shots and led 16-3 as Wattara put away bucket after bucket.
The Patriots took the lead up to 12 at a score of 30-18 with a driving lay-up from Lawrence. The Valkyries were able to cut the margin back down to single digits at 38-33 with 2:05 left before halftime. Francis Marion led 40-33 at intermission.
Francis Marion outscored Converse 15-2 in the first five minutes of the second half to record its biggest lead of the night at 55-35. Although the Valkyries were able to cut the lead back to seven points (57-50), junior guard
Jordan Simpson put FMU right back into double-digits with a three-pointer from the corner.
The Patriots kept their lead despite Converse coming back to within three (71-68) with 2:12 remaining. FMU made 9-of-10 free throws over the final 2:04 to seal the win.
