Patriot Men rally for 68-62 win over Lander

By Michael G. Hawkins

FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University used a 19-3 run in the first half to overcome a slow start and went on to claim a 68-62 victory over long-time rival Lander University, Wednesday evening (Jan. 28) in Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball action.

Francis Marion (11-5, 4-5) snapped a three-game losing streak, while extending Lander’s (8-8, 4-6) skid to four contests. It was the 80th meeting between the two programs and FMU closed the series gap to 44-36.

Junior guard Anthony Wallen paced FMU with 14 points, while reserve guard Kendrick Robinson scored 11 points and reserve center David Turner added 10 points. Senior center Stanley Jones scored seven points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Junior swingman Greg Smalls came off the Lander bench to score 13 points, while senior forward Houston Wright scored 12 for the Bearcats.

Lander hit on five of its first six shots and streaked to an early 19-7 lead. Francis Marion responded with its 19-3 spurt and took the lead, holding Lander to 4-of-22 shooting over the rest of the first half. A late three-pointer by Wallen helped FMU leave the floor at halftime with a 31-24 advantage.

The FMU lead would gradually grow to 14 on two occasions, including 50-36 at the midway point of the second stanza. Lander rallied to cut the deficit to 54-49 after two free throws by Ford Lawrence with 6:08 left.

Robinson then produced his own personal 5-0 run with a three-pointer and a fast-break layup to increase the Patriot margin to 59-49. Lander again rallied, cutting the lead to 63-59 on a layup by Smalls with 1:48 remaining. Crayton Jones and Wallen then drained four straight free throws to put FMU up by eight points (67-59) with 28 ticks left.

For the evening FMU hit on 10-of-22 three-point attempts, while holding Lander to 6-of-23 from long range. The Patriots also held their lead by draining 10-of-13 free throws over the final 17 minutes.

Francis Marion plays at North Georgia College & State University on Saturday at 4 p.m., while Lander is at Georgia Southwestern State University on the same day at the same time.