BANNER ELK, N.C. – Francis Marion rallied in the second half after being down 14 points on Wednesday evening to Lees-McRae men's basketball as the Patriots recorded the 113-105 win in Conference Carolinas play.
Justin Nichelson registered a team-high 21 points on an efficient 8-10 from the field and
Jeremy Golson scored a career-high 20 points on 5-7 from three-point range.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Francis Marion – 113; Lees-McRae – 105
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (5-10/1-6), Francis Marion (8-4/5-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae staked out to a 16-9 advantage after Golson buried his first triple of the game with 15:58 left in the first half. Williams Onyeodi added to the Bobcat lead with a jumper just inside the paint at 33-18.
- Francis Marion chipped away at the margin as Bryce Beamer laid in a basket with 7:13 remaining in the first, but Golson connected from deep once again at 44-34.
- Golson once again connected from beyond the arc with 54 seconds remaining in the first period as Lees-McRae held the 63-49 margin heading into the halftime break.
- The Patriots stormed back in the first nine minutes out of the break as Beamer scored five points in 30 seconds of action to get within one point of the Bobcat lead.
- Fari Saintcyr Jr. connected on a three with 9:32 remaining in the contest to give Francis Marion the 81-79 advantage and answered a Golson three with a three of his own at the 7:23 mark to regain the two-point margin for the Patriots.
- Francis Marion stopped a late run from Lees-McRae in the last four minutes of the contest as the Patriots topped the Bobcats by a final of 113-105 on Wednesday night.
- The Bobcats scored a season-high 105 points in tonight's loss, but also suffered from a season-best 24 turnovers. Lees-McRae drained a season-high 18 three-pointers on 34 attempts and went 38-69 (55.1%) from the floor.
- Five Bobcats scored in double-figures this evening with Nichelson leading the way with 21 points and Golson adding 20 points in the start. Onyeodi registered 18 points and grabbed three rebounds.
- Brandon Brown tallied 13 points on 5-5 from the charity stripe and Sidney Dollar rounded out the scorers in double digits with 10 points to go along with six boards and four assists.
- Lees-McRae assisted on 27 of their 38 made baskets and recorded 45 points from the bench.
FOR THE PATRIOTS:
- Beamer led the charge for the Patriots with a game-high 26 points on 11-15 shooting and eight rebounds in the contest.
- Alex Cox added 25 points and Jonah Pierce hauled in a double-double with 17 points and 13 boards.
- SaintCyr Jr., scored 15 points off the bench for Francis Marion and Tionne Rollins recorded 13 points and added nine assists in the matchup.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae returns to Conference Carolinas play on Saturday, Jan. 7 for a 4 p.m. showdown with the Flying Fleet of Erskine.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
