COLUMBUS, GA – Junior forward Latavian Lawrence tallied his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Francis Marion University in an 83-74 overtime road loss to Columbus State University on Tuesday (Dec. 3) night in men's basketball play. 
 
The Patriots (3-6) will resume Conference Carolinas action on Dec. 14 at Barton College with a tip-off time of 4 p.m.
 
Behind Lawrence, sophomore guard Horaces Jacques Jr. recorded 17 points.  Junior forward Jordyn Surratt recorded a game-high 13 rebounds and four assists, while freshman forward Alex Atkinson chipped in nine points and 12 rebounds.
 
Jarrett Adderton paced Columbus State (6-1) with 24 points, connecting on 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point line.
 
Despite Columbus State jumping to a six-point advantage in the opening minutes of the contest, the Patriots climbed back to knot the score at 15-15 with a three-pointer from the wing by junior forward Andres Arellano Jr. Following three lead exchanges, Francis Marion then went on a 11-0 run with buckets from junior forward AJ Hamrick, Jacques Jr., and junior guard Jordan Simpson to open the lead to 31-21 with 3:37 left before halftime.
 
A three-pointer from the wing by Lawrence started a 19-0 run that carried over into the second half.  FMU led 34-28 at halftime.
 
Hamrick and Lawrence continued the scoring run for Francis Marion after the opening whistle of the second half, hitting two back-to-back threes and when the run ended, the Patriots held a 50-28 advantage with 15 minutes remaining. Outscoring the Patriots 20-5 later in the second half, the Cougars closed the gap to just one point at 61-60 at the 4:40 mark.
 
Columbus State exchanged leads with FMU for a 68-64 lead before a pair of free throws from Lawrence brought the Patriots back to trail 68-66. Another set of free throws from Atkinson tied the score once again at 68-68 that carried until the end of regulation and took the teams into overtime.
 
Atkinson tied the game at 70-70 with a lob off the glass from Jacques Jr. with three minutes left in overtime. With two shots at the charity stripe, Columbus State took the advantage at 72-70 before Jacques Jr. knotted the score again at 72-72 with two made free throws of his own.
 
Another three pointer from Jarrett Adderton put the Cougars up by three and gave them the lead for the remainder of the contest.