FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – Francis Marion University upset #24 ranked Emmanuel University 90-87 on Saturday (Feb. 10) evening, led by senior forward Bryce Beamer's 20 points.
 
With no mid-week game this week, the Patriots will face local-rival UNC Pembroke on Saturday (Feb. 17) in Pembroke, N.C., with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
 
FMU now advances their slate to 12-10 overall with a 10-4 record in Conference Carolinas league action.  It is the second straight season that the Patriots have defeated a nationally ranked opponent.
 
Beamer recorded his ninth double-double of the season, posting 20 points and 12 rebounds, while also collecting five steals. Behind Beamer was senior guard Tionne Rollins with 16 points, while shooting 6-12 from the field.
 
FMU senior forward Marlow Gilmore Jr. totaled 13 points on 6-7 shooting, junior guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. and sophomore guard Adonis Cole recorded 11 points apiece. The final of six Patriots scoring in double digits was junior forward Ibrahim Wattara with 10 points.
 
The Patriots committed only four turnovers – one shy of the school record for fewest in a game – and led 10-4 in points off turnovers.
 
Francis Marion outrebounded Emmanuel by just one, 38-37, but led 25-16 in second-chance points. FMU also held the Lions to a 30.87 field goal percentage in the first half, while building a 15-point margin.
 
Emmanuel's Kelvin Jones, the Division II scoring leading in points per game and active career scoring leader with over 2,800 points, paced the Lions with a game high of 31 points.  The loss snapped Emmanuel's 10-game winning streak and dropped the Lions to 19-5 and 11-2.
 
The Lions opened the first half by tallying the first five points of the contest. Francis Marion then rattled off 15 unanswered points – six by Cole – and would never trail again. With an assist from Beamer, SaintCyr Jr. dropped in a three-pointer to extend the Patriots' lead to 11 points at 23-12.
 
The Patriots would by as many as 16 points on three occasions in the first stanza, the final time at 43-27 after a lay-in by Wattara.  A final lay-up from Beamer took the Patriots into halftime with a 15-point lead at a score of 45-30.
 
Kicking off the second half, Rollins rolled off a screen set by Beamer and drained a mid-range jumper to up the advantage to 17. The margin was still 16 five minutes into the second half, but Emmanuel gradually closed the gap.  A three-pointer by Chris Dees trimmed Francis Marion's margin to seven points (71-64) at the 9:28 minute mark, but Francis Marion responded by extending the margin back to 84-72 with 6:04 remaining.
 
A frantic 13-2 run by the Lions cut the deficit to 86-85 with just under three minutes remaining. Neither team would score over the next 1:22 until Rollins canned a three-pointer to put the Patriots up 89-85 with 1:31 on the clock.  Emmanuel would cut the the lead to 90-87 in the final seconds, but a turnover by the Lions with four ticks left sealed the upset win for Jake Zehnder's squad.
 
 
02/10/24 4:00 pm at Franklin Springs, GA
FRANCIS MARION 90, #24 EMMANUEL (GA) 87
FRANCIS MARION (12-10, 10-4)
Bryce Beamer 8-17 2-4 20; Tionne Rollins 6-12 2-4 16; Marlow Gilmore Jr. 6-7
1-2 13; Adonis Cole 5-10 0-0 11; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 3-7 3-6 11; Ibrahim
Wattara 4-7 2-3 10; Horaces Jacques Jr. 3-14 3-4 9; Willie Patterson III 0-1
0-0 0; Chandler O'Bannon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-75 13-23 90.
EMMANUEL (GA) (19-5, 11-2)
Kelvin Jones 7-15 15-17 31; Chris Dees 6-12 1-2 17; Tavarus Webb 4-7 4-5 14;
Kendall Latney 6-12 1-2 13; Nate Gordon 2-4 3-3 7; Elisee Ehuie 2-5 0-0 5;
Jasper Gibson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 24-29 87.
Francis Marion................   45   45  -   90
Emmanuel (GA)..............   30   57  -   87
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-16 (Farid SaintCyr Jr. 2-6; Tionne Rollins
2-3; Bryce Beamer 2-5; Adonis Cole 1-1; Horaces Jacques Jr. 0-1), Emmanuel
(GA) 9-23 (Chris Dees 4-8; Kelvin Jones 2-7; Tavarus Webb 2-3; Elisee Ehuie
1-2; Jasper Gibson 0-3). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Emmanuel
(GA)-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 38 (Bryce Beamer 12), Emmanuel (GA) 37
(Tavarus Webb 9; Kendall Latney 9). Assists--Francis Marion 7 (Tionne
Rollins 3), Emmanuel (GA) 14 (Kelvin Jones 9). Total fouls--Francis Marion
20, Emmanuel (GA) 17. Technical fouls--None. A-65