FLORENCE, SC – After featuring five Patriots in double figures and shooting a season-high 55.6 percent from the field, the Francis Marion University men's basketball team secured a 98-86 win over Shorter University in the Conference Carolinas opener in the Smith University Center on Saturday (Nov. 22).

The Patriots bounced back and captured their first win of the season to improve to 1-3 overall with a 1-0 record in league competition. FMU holds a 2-0 record in the all-time series against Shorter. The Hawks drop to 1-3 this year behind a 0-1 mark in conference action.

Francis Marion returns to the University Center on Tuesday, Nov. 25, for a Conference Carolinas East Division matchup against the University of Mount Olive, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.

Senior forward Duncan Alevok led all Patriots with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 attempts, including a trio of three-pointers. He also added nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in 25 minutes. Fellow senior Cole Deptula delivered a breakout performance with a season-high 16 points on five-of-eight shooting from the field and the free-throw line in 22 minutes off the bench. 

Graduate student guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. finished with 15 points, four rebounds, one steal, one block, and one assist in 25 minutes on the court. Senior forward Adonis Cole and junior guard AuMauri Tillman each tallied 13 points, while junior guard Kennard Davis dished out 10 assists with eight points and three rebounds.

The Patriots built an early 16-13 lead in the opening eight-plus minutes of the first half, led by Alevok with six points. Francis Marion opened up a 25-19 lead with 9:05 remaining before the Hawks answered with back-to-back three-pointers to tie the contest at 25-25. Shorter continued to maintain the momentum, knocking down three additional shots from beyond the arc to take a 36-28 edge. FMU responded with nine unanswered points to grab a 37-36 advantage before going a perfect four-of-four from the field in the final two-plus minutes to take a 48-43 lead into halftime.

FMU started the second half with a 9-4 run to establish a double-digit lead at 57-47 with 17:43 to go. After exchanging buckets over a three-minute stretch, the Patriots mounted an 11-3 run to extend the lead to 73-59 with 11:06 remaining. Francis Marion remained in control down the stretch, making 8-of-19 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line to seal the 98-86 win.

Francis Marion finished the contest shooting 35-of-63 (55.6 percent) from the floor while converting 76.0 percent (19-of-15) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Shorter posted a .485 field goal percentage (33-of-68) and made 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from three-point range. The Patriots finished with a 37-32 rebounding advantage, while tallying 44 points in the paint and 41 points off the bench.