FLORENCE, S.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball made the road trip to Florence for a Conference Carolinas showdown with Francis Marion on Saturday as the Patriots held on for the 101-94 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Brandon Brown scored a career-high 20 points on 6-13 shooting to lead four Bobcats in double-digit scoring.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Francis Marion– 101; Lees-McRae – 94
LOCATION: Smith University Center – Florence, South Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (8-13/4-9), Francis Marion (12-7/9-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Brown went 6-13 from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line to pace Lees-McRae in today's contest and Timon Jones followed with 18 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting and 5-7 from three-point range. Nico Ashley and Williams Onyeodi joind Brown ans Jones in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
- Jones answered Francis Marion's three-pointer with a three of his own at the 19:39 mark of the first as the two sides traded leads in the first minutes of the game. Tionne Rollins knocked in a three with 12:38 left in the first half to give the Patriots the five-point edge.
- Francis Marion added to its lead towards the latter stages of the first half as the Patriots had the 50-36 after 20 minutes of play.
- Jones buried a three-pointer on the fastbreak to cut the deficit to 10 points at the 19:28 of the second half and Brown recorded a three-pointer as the Bobcats only trailed by nine with 15:38 to play.
- Lees-McRae went on a 6-0 scoring run after Ashley's fastbreak basket with 6:27 remaining in the contest as Francis Marion led by a score of 82-76. The Patriots answered the second-half run by the Bobcats with baskets late as FMU registered the 101-94 decision on Saturday afternoon.
- The Bobcats went 35-72 (48.6%) from the field with 12 three-pointers and also went 12-17 from the charity stripe.
FOR THE PATRIOTS:
- Jonah Pierce posted a double-double in Francis Marion's victory this afternoon with 26 points and 14 rebounds after going 10-13 from the free-throw line. Bryce Beamer followed with 23 points on 7-12 shooting and Rollins followed with 16. Alex Cox joined his teammates in double-digit scoring with 12 points and registered nine boards.
- Francis Marion went to the free-throw line 36 times in the contest and made 28 shots from the line. The Patriots forced 16 Bobcat turnovers and converted 27 points off turnovers.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball welcomes Conference Carolinas member Barton to the McNair & Debi Tornow Court on Saturday, Feb 4. The tipoff is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
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