FLORENCE, SC – Junior guard AuMauri Tillman scored a team-high 22 points as the Francis Marion University men's basketball program fell by a 103-91 margin to USC Beaufort on Saturday evening (Nov. 15) at Southeast Region Conference Crossover in the Smith University Center.
The Patriots drop to 0-2 to begin the season following the Conference Crossover this weekend. The Sand Sharks improve to 2-0 overall with a pair of double-digit victories after coming off a 21-win campaign in 2024-25.
Francis Marion will hit the road for the first time this season with a non-conference matchup against the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Ga., starting at 7 p.m.
Tillman led the team in scoring on 9-of-15 shooting while adding eight rebounds and one block in 26 minutes on the bench. FMU junior guard Kennard Davis finished with a career-high 17 points after converting 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. He also contributed five assists and one steal in 34 minutes. Junior Jaiden Cancela recorded 16 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in 23 minutes, while senior Adonis Cole totaled eight points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
The Sand Sharks established an early 8-2 advantage in the opening two minutes before the Patriots responded with a 9-2 rally to grab an 11-10 lead with 15:38 left in the first half. The sides exchanged baskets over the next seven-plus minutes as the contest featured three lead changes and four ties. USCB mounted a 7-0 run to pull ahead 38-29 with 6:13 left, but FMU countered with nine unanswered points, led by Tillman with four points, 38-38. The Sand Sharks managed to regain the lead and went into halftime with a narrow 50-48 edge.
USCB hit a three-pointer to begin the second half before climbing the lead to 61-52 after scoring eight-straight points. The Sand Shark maintained the lead at 73-63 with 9:53 left before Francis Marion scored nine unanswered points, led by Tillman with five, to cut the deficit to 73-72 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Sand Sharks pulled away with sharp shooting from beyond the arc, knocking down five three-pointers down the stretch to secure a 103-91 win.
Francis Marion finished the contest shooting 29-of-62 (46.8 percent) from the floor while converting 76.2 percent (32-of-42) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, USC Beaufort posted a .438 field goal percentage (32-of-73) and made 14-of-39 (35.7 percent) from three-point range. The Sand Sharks finished with a 44-31 rebounding advantage while the Patriots scored 43 points off the bench.
