Smith & Jones fire Patriots past Allen 76-63

FLORENCE, SC - Senior forward Sam Smith scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds and senior center Stanley Jones added 13 points and seven rebounds to pace undefeated Francis Marion University to a 76-63 victory over Allen University, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 29) in non-conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion ups its record to 5-0, the best start since the 2003-04 squad opened 10-0 en route to an NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearance.  Allen drops to 1-9.

FMU will return to action on Dec. 13 at The Apprentice School in Newport News, Va., while Allen plays at Edward Waters College on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Smith at 6-5 and Jones at 6-9 hit on a combined 12 of 19 shots.  Junior 6-7 forward Matt French came off the Patriot bench to add 11 points, while senior point guard Crayton Jones directed the FMU offense by handing out eight assists.

Junior 5-9 guard Byron Littlejohn paced Allen with 24 points, while 6-7 freshman Chavis Darby scored 10 points, and 6-5 junior forward Corey Williams recorded eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds before fouling out.

Layups by Brynjar Bjornsson, Smith, and Stanley Jones staked FMU to a quick 6-0 lead.  Allen answered with a 9-3 spurt to knot the score at 9-9.  The score was tied at 26-26 following a Littlejohn three-pointer with 6:12 left in the first half.  However, Francis Marion ended the stanza with a 12-2 run that included eight points by Smith and carried a 38-28 advantage into the locker room.

Over the final 20 minutes, Francis Marion shot 57.7 percent, while holding the Yellow Jackets to 44.8 percent and the Patriots gradually pulled away.

Another three-pointer by Littlejohn pulled Allen to within nine points at 46-37 with 15:31 remaining, and a layup by Darby kept Allen within 10 (53-43) with 12:10 on the clock.  Seven points from French and a layup and dunk by FMU sophomore Simel Boyd accounted for an 11-3 Patriot run that pushed the FMU advantage to 18 points with 9:24 left. The Patriots were not seriously threatened again.

11-29-08 4:10 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 76, ALLEN UNIVERSITY 63

ALLEN UNIVERSITY (1-9)
Byron Littlejohn 7-12 6-6 24; Chavis Darby 5-5 0-0 10; Corey Williams 4-13
0-3 8; Jeremy Crawford 4-7 0-1 8; Martavious Wimberly 3-10 0-0 6;
Christopher Morgan 1-3 1-2 3; Demetrice Terrell 1-9 0-0 3; Rashee Hawkins
0-0 1-2 1; Trevor Speights 0-0 0-0 0; Morton Dowdy 0-0 0-0 0; Karim
Rodriguez 0-2 0-0 0; Jordan Daniel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 8-14 63.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-0)
Smith, Sam 8-10 2-7 18; Jones, Stanley 4-9 5-9 13; French, Matt 4-4 2-2 11;
Robinson, Kendrick 2-6 1-2 6; Turner, David 3-3 0-0 6; Power, Houston 2-4
2-2 6; Wallen, Anthony 1-2 2-2 5; Boyd, Simel 2-3 0-0 4; Jones, Crayton 1-3
1-2 3; Bjornsson, Brynjar 1-4 0-0 2; Clark, Kevin 1-6 0-2 2. Totals 29-54
15-28 76.
Halftime: Francis Marion 38 Allen 28.
3-point goals--Allen University 5-21 (Byron Littlejohn 4-8; Demetrice
Terrell 1-7; Corey Williams 0-5; Karim Rodriguez 0-1), Francis Marion
University 3-11 (French, Matt 1-1; Robinson, Kendrick 1-3; Wallen, Anthony
1-2; Power, Houston 0-1; Jones, Crayton 0-1; Bjornsson, Brynjar 0-2; Clark,
Kevin 0-1). Fouled out--Allen University-Corey Williams, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds--Allen University 31 (Corey Williams 12), Francis
Marion University 39 (Smith, Sam 8). Assists--Allen University 14
(Martavious Wimberly 6), Francis Marion University 19 (Jones, Crayton 8).
Total fouls--Allen University 22, Francis Marion University 17. Technical
fouls--Allen University-None, Francis Marion University-None. A-336