FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore forward Adonis Cole recorded his first career double-double with career-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds as Francis Marion University defeated Southern Wesleyan University 88-70 on Saturday (Feb. 3) afternoon men's action.
 
The Patriots will face the University of Mount Olive on Wednesday (Feb. 7) in the Smith University Center with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Francis Marion advances its record to an even 10-10 overall, while moving to 8-4 in Conference Carolinas league action.
 
Cole canned 5-of-7 field goal attempts and 5-of-6 free throws while also registering four steals. 
 
Senior forward Marlow Gilmore Jr. paced Francis Marion with 19 points, scoring 15 points in the first half. Following with 18 points was senior forward Bryce Beamer, who shot 7-of-9 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers.  Beamer moves to within 10 points of 1,000 for his career, while also gathering his 400th rebound.
 
FMU freshman guard Horaces Jacques Jr. was the last Patriot to record double figures, tallying 11 points. Jacques Jr. also dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Francis Marion outrebounded the Warriors 45-35 and held a 52-32 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Cole recorded the first two points of the first half, putting away a pair of free throws. The Patriots then rattled off another 13 unanswered points as Southern Wesleyan (3-18, 2-9) remained scoreless for the first eight minutes.
 
Although FMU's lead grew to 27-9 with 9:26 minutes left in the first half, Southern Wesleyan began to climb back from the 18-point deficit.  A 17-5 spurt by the Warriors trimmed the deficit to 32-26.  Gilmore Jr. recorded the last bucket of the first half for Francis Marion with a fast-break hook shot at 36-26. The Warriors then went on a 9-0 run and trimmed the lead down to one-point before entering halftime trailing 36-35.
 
The Patriots began the second half hot with a 10-0 spurt, taking the score to 46-35. The Warriors got to within eight points on three occasions, the final time at 53-45 with 14:13 remaining.  A driving lay-up By Jacques Jr. ignited another 10-0 run as the lead grew to 63-45.    FMU's largest lead came at 78-54 after a lay-in by Cole with 5:15 on the clock.
 
Nearing the end of the second half, sophomore forward Chandler O'Bannon came up with a steal and slammed down a two-handed dunk to put the Patriots up 84-62.
 
Francis Marion outscored the Warriors 52-35 in the second half and never trailed in the game.
 
Southern Wesleyan's Reco Hallmon led the Warriors with 24 points.

 
 
02/03/24 4:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 88, SOUTHERN WESLEYAN 70
SOUTHERN WESLEYAN (3-18, 2-9)
Reco Hallmon 9-18 5-7 24; Eric Hackett 6-14 0-0 15; Dyren Brown 3-7 0-0 7;
Jonathan Taylor 2-7 0-0 5; Marcus Long 2-4 0-0 4; Grant Morrison 1-1 1-2 4;
Griffin Effenberger 0-5 3-6 3; Aaron Tims 1-4 0-0 2; Che Smith 0-8 2-4 2;
Josh Martin 0-0 2-2 2; Raevon Allen 1-2 0-0 2; Corey Phillips 0-0 0-0 0;
Chad Clark 0-0 0-0 0; Matthew Rouse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 13-21 70.
FRANCIS MARION (10-10, 8-4)
Marlow Gilmore Jr. 7-11 5-5 19; Bryce Beamer 7-9 1-2 18; Adonis Cole 5-7 5-6
15; Horaces Jacques Jr. 4-13 1-2 11; Tionne Rollins 3-6 2-2 9; Ibrahim
Wattara 3-5 0-1 6; Willie Patterson III 1-5 2-2 4; Chandler O'Bannon 2-2 0-0
4; Matthew Lee 1-3 0-0 2; Jy Gladden 0-0 0-0 0; Jose Figueroa 0-0 0-0 0;
Niko Noumeros 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 33-63 16-20 88.
Southern Wesleyan........   35   35  -   70
Francis Marion................   36   52  -   88
3-point goals--Southern Wesleyan 7-24 (Eric Hackett 3-6; Grant Morrison 1-1;
Jonathan Taylor 1-2; Reco Hallmon 1-3; Dyren Brown 1-4; Che Smith 0-3;
Griffin Effenberger 0-4; Marcus Long 0-1), Francis Marion 6-13 (Bryce Beamer
3-5; Horaces Jacques Jr. 2-4; Tionne Rollins 1-3; Willie Patterson III 0-1).
Fouled out--Southern Wesleyan-None, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--Southern
Wesleyan 35 (Dyren Brown 8), Francis Marion 45 (Adonis Cole 10).
Assists--Southern Wesleyan 15 (Griffin Effenberger 6), Francis Marion 23
(Horaces Jacques Jr. 7). Total fouls--Southern Wesleyan 15, Francis Marion
18. Technical fouls--Southern Wesleyan-Reco Hallmon. A-590