FLORENCE, SC – Junior guard Jordan Simpson paced Francis Marion University with a career-high 27 points, shooting 5-of-11 from the three-point line and 8-of-10 at the free throw line, but the Patriots fell 94-87 to 11th-ranked University of North Georgia on Tuesday (Nov. 26) afternoon in non-conference men's basketball action.
 
The Patriots (3-4) will resume Conference Carolinas action on Saturday (Nov. 30) afternoon as they host Young Harris College. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in the Smith University Center.
 
FMU junior forward Latavian Lawrence connected on 7-of-10 from the floor and tallied 18 points, while freshman forward Alex Atkinson and senior guard Ibrahim Wattara chipped in 12 points apiece.
 
Freshman guard Jeremiah Jacques recorded a new career high with eight assists, while scoring nine points. Junior forward Jordyn Surratt led Francis Marion as he corralled nine rebounds, while Simpson pulled down eight and Atkinson seven.
 
AJ White of North Georgia (7-1) recorded a game-high of 31 points as he shot 10-of-20 from the field and was a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line.
 
Francis Marion opened the first half with a 9-1 advantage, but the Nighthawks rallied to knot the score at 9-9.  UNG took the lead at 13-11. Despite trailing by nine with just 7:27 left on the clock, the Patriots went on a 10-point spurt to retake the lead at 30-29 after a dunk by Lawrence.
 
The Nighthawks answered with a seven-point run of their own, holding the advantage at 36-30 with just three minutes left in the first half. A three-pointer from Lawrence closed the gap to three points at 38-35 before North Georgia scored another four points and entered halftime with a 42-37 advantage.
 
North Georgia never trailed in the second half, despite the Patriots bringing the lead back to only two points (64-62) midway through the stanza on a bucket and free throw by Lawrence.   The margin was still two at 73-71 with 7:25 left and then four, at 79-75, with 4:27 on the clock following a driving layup by Simpson.  The Nighthawks scored the next 10 points to go up 89-75 with 1:44 remaining
 
The Nighthawks held the Patriots to a 43.8 field goal percentage during the second half, while canning 51.6 percent of their second-half shots. 
 
FMU, which did not attempt a free throw in the first half, finished the game 16-of-19 at the line, while UNG was 30-of-39.