ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – Flagler College defeated the Francis Marion University men's basketball team on Saturday (Nov. 9) afternoon by a score of 85-63 on the second day of the Southeast region Crossover Men's Basketball Tournament. Junior forward AJ Hamrick paced the Patriots with a career-high of 12 points while connecting on 5-of-9 from the field.
 
Francis Marion (0-2) will host Columbus State University on Wednesday (Nov. 13) as the home opener for the 2024-25 season. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Smith University Center.
 
FMU junior forwards Latavian Lawrence and Jordyn Surratt, freshman forward Alex Atkinson, and sophomore guard Horaces Jacques Jr. all chipped in eight points apiece behind Hamrick.
 
Surratt led Francis Marion with five rebounds, while Jacques Jr. tallied five assists and two steals.
 
Flagler's Jaylen Jordon recorded a double-double of 19 points and 17 rebounds and Destin Clark posted a game-high of 21 points.
 
Opening the first half, Francis Marion scored the first six points of the contest for a 6-0 lead. Shortly after, Flagler closed the gap and exchanged leads at 7-6 and the Saints would hold the lead for the rest of the first half. Flagler began to widen the margin at 18-13 that later extended into a 12-point deficit for the Patriots.
 
An eight-point FMU run that started with a driving layup by senior forward Ibrahim Wattara late in the first half trimmed the lead down to just two points and kept the Patriots trailing at 37-35. With a final bucket from the Saints, the first half finished at a score of 39-35.
 
Flagler began the second half with a nine-point spurt. Francis Marion closed the gap once again with a six-point run to trail the Saints by 51-49, but Flagler held the lead for the rest of the contest and finished with the 22-point victory.