FLORENCE, SC – Senior guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. scored a career-high 27 points in his final home game as Francis Marion University dropped an 87-80 decision to Barton College on Wednesday night (Feb. 25) in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action at the Smith University Center.

The Patriots will turn their focus to the Conference Carolinas Tournament after earning the No. 11 seed. Francis Marion will face eighth-seeded Southern Wesleyan University in the first round at host school No. 5 Chowan University on Sunday (March 1).  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.  If FMU were to advance, the Patriots would face the Hawks on Monday (March 2) in the second round.

SaintCyr Jr. shot 9-of-18 from the field and made six-of-eight from the free-throw line in his 30 minutes on the court. Additionally, he added six rebounds, four assists, and two steals against the Bulldogs.

Senior swingman Cole Deptula finished with 13 points, one rebound, and three assists in 37 minutes. Junior forward Jaiden Cancela produced 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals in 22 minutes. Fifth-year guard Patrick Antonelli and sophomore forward Clyde Mauldin each tallied 10 points in the loss.

Sean Quick-Streeter and Isaiah Davis of Barton (13-15, 11-9) each scored a game-high 28 points. 

Barton quickly took a 15-5 lead in the opening minutes of the first half, but Francis Marion countered with an impressive 14-3 run, led by SaintCyr Jr. with seven points to give the Patriots a 19-18 edge. The Bulldogs regained their advantage on the next possession and held the lead for five-plus minutes before a free-throw from Mauldin tied the contest at 31-31. With 2:58 remaining in the half, the two sides traded baskets with Antonelli hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to head into half trailing by a 38-36 margin.

The Patriot offense came out firing to begin the second half after mounting a 9-2 run to take a 45-40 lead. Barton recovered from the slow start with a massive 18-4 rally before climbing the lead to double-figures with 9:35 to go, 64-54. The Bulldogs maintained their advantage in the final nine minutes of the contest to claim an 87-80 road win in the regular season finale.

FMU shot at a 39.7 clip (27-of-68) from the floor, while going 16-of-20 (80.0 percent) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, King finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (29-of-58) and converted 22-of-24 (91.7 percent) from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs held a 38-33 rebounding advantage with 36 points in the paint. The Patriots tallied 32 points off the bench and 19 second-chance points.