FLORENCE, SC – Senior forward Bryce Beamer tallied a game-high 19 points, including his 1,000th career point, as Francis Marion University defeated the University of Mount Olive 89-77 on Wednesday (Feb. 7) night in men's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion will play at 24th-ranked Emmanuel College on Saturday (Feb. 10) at 4 p.m.
 
Beamer led Francis Marion (11-10, 9-4) by shooting 7-of-10 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers. The Odessa, Fla., native played one season at NCAA Division I Binghamton University before his two seasons at FMU, and now has 1,009 points in his career.
 
FMU junior forward Ibrahim Wattara came off the bench to log a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards. Freshman guard Horaces Jacques Jr. scored in double-digits for the 14th time this season, posting 14 points.  Sophomore forward Adonis Cole and senior forward Marlow Gilmore Jr. both chipped in 10 points apiece.
 
Mount Olive's Redford Dunton and Josiah Watkins scored 18 points each to pace the Trojans (6-16, 5-7).
 
Beamer opened the contest by draining a deep three-pointer from the top of the arc. With that opening bucket, Francis Marion took the lead and kept it for the entirety of the game.
 
Junior guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. registered a quick five points with seven minutes left in the half, and Wattara added two buckets of his own as an 8-0 spurt for the Patriots opened a 36-22 lead.
 
A fast-break layup by Beamer established the biggest lead of the first half at 43-26. Entering halftime, Francis Marion led by 14 points as Mount Olive's Shane Peterson fired off a three-pointer, bring the score to 43-29.
 
The Patriots held Mount Olive (6-16, 5-7) to just a 32.3 field goal percentage in the first half, while shooting 51.5 percent comparatively.
 
Over a three-minute span early in the second half, the Patriots tallied 13 unanswered points to extend a 14-point margin to 66-39.  The spurt was spearheaded by sophomore forward Willie Patterson III and Wattara with four points apiece. Francis Marion took its biggest lead of the night midway through the second half, widening the margin to 29 at 69-40 following a three-point play by Cole.
 
A late 10-0 run by Mount Olive trimmed the margin under 20 points.
 
FMU held a commanding 48-25 rebounding advantage and led 22-13 in second-chance points, and 46-32 in points-in-the-paint.

 
 
02/07/24 7:30 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 89, MOUNT OLIVE 77
MOUNT OLIVE (6-16, 5-7)
Redford Dunton 6-12 4-4 18; Josiah Watkins 6-9 6-8 18; Shane Peterson 4-9
3-3 14; Aaron Murphy 3-9 1-1 7; Trey Nelson 2-4 2-3 7; Kahlif Barnes 2-8 2-2
6; Brent Randleman 1-5 1-2 3; Kennard Davis 1-3 0-0 2; Kristopher Clark 1-3
0-0 2; Ryan Roberts 0-1 0-0 0; Ja'Merl Brockington 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-63
19-23 77.
FRANCIS MARION (11-10, 9-4)
Bryce Beamer 7-10 2-2 19; Horaces Jacques Jr. 5-11 3-6 14; Ibrahim Wattara
5-9 2-2 12; Marlow Gilmore Jr. 2-6 6-6 10; Adonis Cole 3-4 3-5 10; Farid
SaintCyr Jr. 3-6 2-2 9; Tionne Rollins 4-14 0-0 9; Willie Patterson III 1-2
4-5 6; Chandler O'Bannon 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 30-63 22-30 89.
Mount Olive...................   29   48  -   77
Francis Marion...............   43   46  -   89
3-point goals--Mount Olive 6-17 (Shane Peterson 3-5; Redford Dunton 2-5;
Trey Nelson 1-1; Kahlif Barnes 0-1; Kennard Davis 0-1; Kristopher Clark 0-1;
Aaron Murphy 0-3), Francis Marion 7-21 (Bryce Beamer 3-6; Farid SaintCyr Jr.
1-3; Horaces Jacques Jr. 1-3; Adonis Cole 1-1; Tionne Rollins 1-7; Ibrahim
Wattara 0-1). Fouled out--Mount Olive-None, Francis Marion-Farid SaintCyr
Jr.. Rebounds--Mount Olive 25 (Shane Peterson 6), Francis Marion 48 (Ibrahim
Wattara 10). Assists--Mount Olive 13 (Josiah Watkins 4), Francis Marion 21
(Tionne Rollins 7). Total fouls--Mount Olive 20, Francis Marion 20.
Technical fouls--Mount Olive-Redford Dunton; Josiah Watkins; Aaron Murphy;
Kahlif Barnes, Francis Marion-Willie Patterson III. A-597