FLORENCE, NC – Senior forward Bryce Beamer scored 23 points to lead five Francis Marion University players in double figures as the Patriots outlasted King University (Tenn.) 88-82, Saturday evening (Feb. 24) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball play.
 
Francis Marion (13-12, 11-6) will conclude its regular season schedule with a Senior Night contest at home on Wednesday against Belmont Abbey College.  Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
 
Beamer also hauled down 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.  Junior Forward Ibrahim Wattara also posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while other double-digits scorers were junior guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. 13, freshman guard Horaces Jacques Jr. 11, and senior center Marlow Gilmore Jr. 10.
 
Jacques Jr. also dished out a game-high nine assists and registered three steals.
 
The game featured 64 personal fouls and saw the Patriots make 36 free throws (one shy of the school record) in 46 attempts.  King managed only 17-of-37 attempts at the foul line.
 
Freshman forward Mikhail Pocknett and sophomore guard Jordan Akal paced King (9-17, 5-12) with 20 points apiece.
 
King's Satchel Love opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but that would prove to be the Tornado's only lead.  FMU responded with a 16-0 run that included an alley-oop dunk by Gilmore Jr. that brought the Homecoming crowd of 1,854 to its feet.  The attendance mark was the highest for a Patriot home game in four seasons.
 
A turn-around jumper by Beamer later expanded the lead to 18-5, but King would gradually claw its way back into the contest.  A driving lay-up by Seth Cullen trimmed the margin to 23-21 with 5:19 left before halftime.
 
The Patriots scored the final nine points of the first stanza to leave for the lockerroom holding a 36-24 advantage.
 
FMU then scored the opening six points of the second half to complete a 15-0 run and led 42-24.
 
The margin had dwindled to nine (54-45) near the midway point of the second half.  A 10-2 Francis Marion spurt pushed the margin back to 17, and the lead would eventually grow to 22, at 79-57, following a lay-in by Gilmore Jr. with 3:52 left.
 
As the game ground to a march from one free throw line to the other, King rallied to get the final margin under double figures.
 
Francis Marion shot 37.9 percent from the floor, while King connected on 44.4 percent of their field goal attempts.

 
 
02/24/24 4:00 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION 88, KING (TN) 82
KING (TN) (9-17, 5-12)
Jordan Akal 4-13 8-8 20; Mikhail Pocknett 8-15 4-10 20; Cam George 4-6 0-1
10; Satchel Love 4-5 0-2 9; Kenny Turner 3-7 0-4 6; Josh Jackson 1-1 3-6 5;
Almando Cyrius 1-3 0-0 3; Eli Elston 1-3 1-2 3; Seth Cullen 1-8 1-4 3;
Amarius Beasley 1-2 0-0 3; Dami Farinloye 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 17-37 82.
FRANCIS MARION (13-12, 11-6)
Bryce Beamer 6-14 9-9 23; Ibrahim Wattara 3-6 8-10 14; Farid SaintCyr Jr.
5-15 3-4 13; Horaces Jacques Jr. 2-10 7-7 11; Marlow Gilmore Jr. 4-7 2-2 10;
Willie Patterson III 2-6 5-9 9; Adonis Cole 3-6 2-5 8; Jy Gladden 0-0 0-0 0;
Chandler O'Bannon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-66 36-46 88.
King (TN).....................   24   58  -   82
Francis Marion............   36   52  -   88
3-point goals--King (TN) 9-22 (Jordan Akal 4-8; Cam George 2-4; Satchel Love
1-1; Amarius Beasley 1-1; Almando Cyrius 1-1; Seth Cullen 0-5; Mikhail
Pocknett 0-2), Francis Marion 2-16 (Bryce Beamer 2-6; Farid SaintCyr Jr.
0-5; Horaces Jacques Jr. 0-3; Willie Patterson III 0-2). Fouled out--King
(TN)-Kenny Turner; Seth Cullen; Satchel Love, Francis Marion-Horaces Jacques
Jr.; Marlow Gilmore Jr.. Rebounds--King (TN) 44 (Mikhail Pocknett 12),
Francis Marion 45 (Ibrahim Wattara 11; Bryce Beamer 11). Assists--King (TN)
13 (Mikhail Pocknett 3; Jordan Akal 3), Francis Marion 16 (Horaces Jacques
Jr. 9). Total fouls--King (TN) 34, Francis Marion 27. Technical fouls--King
(TN)-Kenny Turner; King head coach Gillespie 2, Francis Marion-Marlow Gilmore Jr.; FMU head coach Zehnder. A-1854