Saints overtake Patriot Men in second half for 77-63 win

by Michael G. Hawkins

DAHLONEGA, GA – North Georgia College & State University took advantage of a cold second-half shooting performance by Francis Marion University to rally for a 77-63 Peach Belt Conference win over the Patriots, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 31) in men’s basketball action.

Francis Marion falls to 11-6 overall and 4-6 in the PBC.

For the second straight outing, junior guard Anthony Wallen led the Patriots in scoring, this time with a career-high 23. He connected on 8-of-17 shots, including 6-of-13 three-point attempts. Backcourt mate Kendrick Robinson was the only other Patriot in double figures as he tallied 15 points.

Outside of Wallen and Robinson, the other Patriots shot 11 of 32 from the floor.

The Saints (10-7, 4-7) had four players in double figures led by Labrian Lyons with 16 points and seven assists, while Anthony Rowe tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Francis Marion led by as many as 10 points on three occasions in the opening half, but a late 7-0 run by the Saints allowed North Georgia to trim the FMU lead to 41-35 at halftime.

The Patriots shot 48.6 percent from the floor in the first half, but cooled considerably to 26.7 percent (8 of 30) over the final 20 minutes.

North Georgia opened the second stanza with a 15-2 run to take a 50-43 lead with 13:15 remaining. Francis Marion pulled to within three points on two different occasions, the final time at 54-51 following a Simel Boyd layup with 11:20 left.

The Saints then scored seven straight points to lead 61-51. The final margin was the largest lead of the game.

Francis Marion hit 9-of-28 three point attempts, but managed only 4-of-12 free throws and committed 20 turnovers.

Francis Marion plays at 12th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University on Monday at 7:30 p.m.