Sizzling Jaguars claw Francis Marion 75-54
AUGUSTA, GA - Bolstered by a sizzling first-half shooting exhibition, fourth-ranked Augusta State University cruised to a 75-54 Peach Belt Conference win over Francis Marion University, Wednesday night (Jan. 21) in men's basketball action.
Francis Marion loses its second straight game to fall to 10-4 overall and 3-4 in the PBC.
Junior guard Anthony Wallen came off the Patriot bench to lead FMU with 11 points. Sophomore 6-7 forward David Turner, who returned to the Patriot lineup after missing eight games with a foot injury, added nine points and six rebounds.
Junior guard Ben Madgen led ASU (13-3, 7-2) with 20 points, while 7-foot, 291-pound senior center Garret Siler tallied 17 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Augusta State, ranked 19th nationally in team field goal percentage, connected on 21 of 28 first-half shots (75 percent), while FMU shot 30.3 percent over the opening 20 minutes, including 3-of-16 from beyond the three-point arc.
Madgen scored the game's opening five points on a three-pointer and a layup. Siler added a dunk to give ASU a quick 7-0 lead, an advantage the Jaguars would never relinquish.
A three-pointer by Wallen drew Francis Marion to within 19-14 with 11:06 left in the first stanza, but ASU scored eight straight points to push the margin back to double digits. After Wallen's bucket, the Jaguars outscored FMU 30-9 over the final 11 minutes of the half to lead 49-23 at halftime.
The margin would swell to 32 points (55-23) early in the second half. A 22-2 run by Francis Marion brought the Patriots to within 12 at 57-45 with 8:36 left on the clock. However ASU ran off the next 13 points to lead 70-45 and douse any hopes of a comeback by the Patriots.
Francis Marion will entertain Clayton State University on Saturday at 4 p.m.
01-21-09 7:30 p.m. at Augusta, Ga.
#4 AUGUSTA STATE 75, FRANCIS MARION 54
FRANCIS MARION (10-4, 3-4 PBC)
Wallen, Anthony 4-13 1-2 11; Turner, David 4-8 0-0 9; Jones,
Stanley 3-8 1-3
7; Jones, Crayton 2-3 2-4 6; Robinson, Kendrick 2-7 2-4 6; Boyd,
Simel 3-3
0-0 6; Clark, Kevin 2-5 0-0 5; Smith, Sam 1-5 0-0 2; French, Matt
1-3 0-0 2;
Bjornsson, Brynjar 0-4 0-0 0; Power, Houston 0-2 0-0 0. Totals
22-61 6-13
54.
#4 AUGUSTA STATE (13-3, 7-2 PBC)
Madgen, Ben 7-12 3-4 20; Siler, Garret 7-11 3-4 17; Brathwaite,
Fred 4-8 3-3
11; Dixon, Daniel 3-6 0-0 8; Brown, Caleb 2-5 1-2 6; Hire, Greg
2-3 2-5 6;
Beal, Tye 2-3 0-0 4; Wright, Tom 1-3 1-2 3; Killeen, Jason 0-0 0-0
0; Smith,
Steve 0-0 0-2 0; Brown, Howard 0-0 0-0 0; Davis, Sadonas 0-0 0-0
0. Totals
28-51 13-22 75.
Halftime: Augusta State 49 Francis Marion 23
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-29 (Wallen, Anthony 2-11; Clark,
Kevin 1-3;
Turner, David 1-4; Robinson, Kendrick 0-4; Smith, Sam 0-1;
Bjornsson,
Brynjar 0-4; Power, Houston 0-1; Jones, Stanley 0-1), Augusta
State 6-17
(Madgen, Ben 3-5; Dixon, Daniel 2-5; Brown, Caleb 1-2; Beal, Tye
0-1;
Wright, Tom 0-2; Brathwaite, Fred 0-2). Fouled out--Francis
Marion-None,
Augusta State-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 29 (Turner, David 6),
Augusta
State 42 (Brathwaite, Fred 7; Madgen, Ben 7). Assists--Francis
Marion 13
(Jones, Crayton 5), Augusta State 19 (Smith, Steve 4; Hire, Greg
4). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 17, Augusta State 16. Technical fouls-ASU
Team. A-921
