Game Patriots drop thriller to sixth-ranked Jaguars

FLORENCE, SC – Junior guard Ben Madgen scored a game-high 20 points, 16 of which came in the second half, and sixth-ranked Augusta State University held-off upset-minded Francis Marion University for an 80-77 win, Wednesday night (Feb. 18) in Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball action.

ASU (20-4, 14-3) remains tied for the conference lead, while Francis Marion drops to 15-9 and 8-9.

Madgen hit five of six free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the victory. Kevin Clark’s three-pointer drew FMU to within 77-75 with 10 seconds left. After Madgen hit two free throws with nine ticks left, to up the margin to 79-75, FMU senior point guard Crayton Jones streak down the court for a layup to bring the Patriots to within 79-77 with two seconds remaining.

Madgen hit the second of two free throws to push the margin to three, but Anthony Wallen’s half-court heave was just wide at the final horn.

Wallen led Francis Marion with 15 points, while sophomore David Turner scored 13 off the bench. Clark and reserve forward Matt French each added 12 points, while Jones tallied seven points and eight assists with only one turnover in 38 minutes.

Madgen also handed out a team-high five assists. Senior 7-0 center Garret Siler tallied 16 points and 15 rebounds. He leads the nation in field goal percentage, but his 6-of-10 effort was actually beneath his season average of 78.2 percent. Forward Fred Brathwaite scored 17 and grabbed eight rebounds, while Caleb Brown kicked in 11 off the ASU bench, all in the opening 20 minutes.

After a brief FMU advantage at 5-2, Augusta State would lead the remainder of the first half, but the margin never exceeded seven points (28-21). A jump shot by Turner with five seconds left before halftime cut the ASU margin to a single point at 34-33.

Leading only 36-35, the Jaguars took advantage of a cold stretch by FMU to put together a 14-2 run and pull out to a 50-37 advantage with 12:50 remaining. Francis Marion responded with a 23-10 spurt that lifted the Patriots to a one-point lead at 60-59 following a pair of free throws by French with 6:05 left.

The score was tied at 60, 62, and 65, before ASU scored eight unanswered points to lead 73-65 with 2:04 on the clock. A three-pointer by Clark and a layup by French cut the deficit to 73-70. Siler then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored as the shot clock was winding down to up the margin to five with 30 seconds left.

Both teams only committed nine turnovers apiece in the fast-paced and exciting game.

FMU was attempting to get its first home win over a nationally ranked opponent in 10 years.

Francis Marion will play at 14th-ranked Georgia College & State University on Saturday at 4 p.m.

By Michael G. Hawkins