FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University senior guard Tionne Rollins dropped a game-high 24 points to lead the Patriots in their 88-68 win over Belmont Abbey College amid Senior Night celebrations on Wednesday (Feb. 28) night.
 
After playing the final regular season game of the 2023-24 season, Francis Marion enters post-season play that begins on Sunday (March 3) with the first- and second-round contests. The Patriots (14-12, 12-6) are the fourth seed and will host a pair of contests.  Ninth-seeded Belmont Abbey and 10th-seeded University of Mount Olive will play at 5 p.m. on Sunday in FMU's Smith University Center, and then the Patriots will face the winner on Monday at 6 p.m.
 
Rollins connected on 8-of-12 field attempts, including 6-of-9 from behind the three-point arc, and handed out six assists.  Junior guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. followed with 21 points, shooting 8-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Marlow Gilmore Jr. chipped in 17 points.
 
Senior forward Bryce Beamer (12) and sophomore guard Adonis Cole (10) combined for a total of 22 rebounds, while freshman guard Horaces Jacques Jr. led the Patriots with eight assists and four steals.
 
On 6-of-12 shooting, Belmont Abbey's Kyle Frazier paced the Crusaders (11-17, 9-9) with 21 points.
 
Rollins and Beamer opened the first half with two back-to-back three pointers, taking an 8-2 lead. Hot-handed Rollins continued to fire off shots, scoring 11 points in the first half and pushed the Patriots into a 10-point lead at 15-5.
 
Gilmore Jr. scored on a lay-up to ignite a 7-0 spurt that produced a 34-20 FMU advantage.  A three-point play by SaintCyr Jr. extended the margin to 42-24 with two minutes left before halftime.
 
An 8-0 run early in the second stanza pushed the Francis Marion lead to 52-29.  The Patriots took their biggest lead at 34 points (74-40) as Rollins drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, assisted by Cole as he dished a pass from the wing.
 
The Crusaders went on a 14-point run late in the second half, cutting down the deficit to 17 points at 78-61.  However, that was as close as the Crusaders would get.
 
FMU held a 46-28 rebounding advantage and led 20-4 in second-chance points.  The Patriots hit 12 of their 25 three-point attempts.


 
02/28/24 7:30 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 88, BELMONT ABBEY 68
BELMONT ABBEY (11-17,9-9 Confer)
Kyle Frazier 6-12 5-7 21; Mason Taylor 4-13 5-7 15; Darius Kane 4-8 1-2 9;
Wade Jackson 3-12 1-3 7; DJ Holloway 2-10 2-2 6; Judah Sault 2-2 2-2 6;
Jaylon Simpson 1-4 0-1 2; Alhousseny Diallo 1-1 0-0 2; Khamani Wertz 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 23-64 16-24 68.
FRANCIS MARION (14-12,12-6 Confe)
Tionne Rollins 8-12 2-2 24; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 8-8 1-1 21; Marlow Gilmore
Jr. 8-11 1-2 17; Bryce Beamer 3-12 2-2 9; Adonis Cole 3-6 0-0 6; Horaces
Jacques Jr. 2-6 0-0 4; Ibrahim Wattara 2-8 0-0 4; Willie Patterson III 1-3
0-0 3; Chandler O'Bannon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-66 6-7 88.
Belmont Abbey.................   25   43  -   68
Francis Marion................   42   46  -   88
3-point goals--Belmont Abbey 6-29 (Kyle Frazier 4-10; Mason Taylor 2-4; Wade
Jackson 0-6; DJ Holloway 0-3; Jaylon Simpson 0-2; Khamani Wertz 0-2; Darius
Kane 0-2), Francis Marion 12-25 (Tionne Rollins 6-9; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 4-4;
Bryce Beamer 1-5; Willie Patterson III 1-2; Ibrahim Wattara 0-1; Horaces
Jacques Jr. 0-2; Adonis Cole 0-2). Fouled out--Belmont Abbey-None, Francis
Marion-None. Rebounds--Belmont Abbey 28 (DJ Holloway 6), Francis Marion 46
(Bryce Beamer 12). Assists--Belmont Abbey 14 (Khamani Wertz 5), Francis
Marion 24 (Horaces Jacques Jr. 8). Total fouls--Belmont Abbey 10, Francis
Marion 21. Technical fouls--Belmont Abbey-Darius Kane, Francis Marion-Adonis
Cole. A-610