Francis Marion stuns #12 Pirates 74-69

SAVANNAH, GA - Junior guard Anthony Wallen scored 22 points and Francis Marion University used a 15-0 run over a five-and-a-half minute span in the second half to stun 12th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University 74-69, Monday night (Feb. 2) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion (12-6, 5-6) equals its win total of the 2007-08 season and scores a come-from-behind upset of the Pirates in Savannah for the second consecutive year.

Wallen led FMU in scoring for the third straight game.  Senior point guard Crayton Jones, playing with an injured shoulder tallied 11 points, 8 assists, and seven rebounds, while senior forward Sam Smith added 10 points.

AASU (15-4, 8-4 PBC) suffers back-to-back losses for the first time this season, while also suffering its first loss to an unranked team in 2008-09.

Francis Marion took a three-point halftime lead, 41-38, thanks to the hot shooting of  Wallen. Wallen hit for 16 first-half points, including 4-of-7 three-pointers.

AASU came out hot in the second half, scoring on its first two possessions to take the lead, and eventually stretched that margin out to five, 55-50, on a basket by Calvin Wilson with 11:41 remaining. Over the next five-and-a-half minutes, however, the Pirates would go 0-for-6 with five turnovers as Francis Marion surged ahead with the 15-0 run to take a 65-55 lead with 5:36 left.  Sophomore Simel Boyd had six points in the spurt, while Jones had five.

The Pirates fought back and cut the lead to one, 67-66, on a basket by Wilson with 2:35 remaining, but Francis Marion would seal the win with five of six free throws in the final 23 seconds.  Jones was a perfect 4-of-4 at the stripe in the final 35 seconds.

Wilson led the Pirates with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, while T.T. Hall chipped in 13 points.

"CJ's play was one of the most heroic performances I have ever witnessed," said FMU head coach Gary Edwards. "Not having guard Kendrick Robinson (out with an injury), CJ had to log 35 minutes with a bad shoulder, and still nearly recorded a triple-double."

"Overall, this is one of the most unlikeliest wins I have ever been involved in. January was a tough month for us (3-6 record). February holds a lot of promise if we play this hard the rest of the way."

Francis Marion plays host to 14th-ranked USC Aiken on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

02-02-09 7:30 p.m. at Savannah, Ga.
FRANCIS MARION 74, #12 ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC 69

FRANCIS MARION (12-6, 5-6 PBC)
Wallen, Anthony 8-14 2-2 22; Jones, Crayton 3-7 4-4 11; Smith, Sam 3-7 4-7
10; Boyd, Simel 4-5 0-0 8; Turner, David 3-7 0-0 7; Jones, Stanley 3-10 0-0
6; French, Matt 1-1 2-2 5; Power, Houston 1-2 1-2 3; Clark, Kevin 1-9 0-0 2.
Totals 27-62 13-17 74.
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC (15-4, 8-4 PBC)
Wilson, Calvin 7-10 1-2 16; Hall, T.T. 4-9 2-2 13; Moultrie, Brian 3-9 5-6
11; Tolbert, Dwight 3-11 3-7 11; Robinson, Gabriel 3-8 1-2 7; Shokpeka,
Patrick 1-1 3-4 5; Hethington, Uriah 1-2 2-2 4; Vanlandingham, Chris 1-2 0-0
2; McKenzie, Keron 0-3 0-0 0; Duvall, Marquise 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 23-55 17-27
69.
Halftime: Francis Marion  41 Armstrong Atlantic 38
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-14 (Wallen, Anthony 4-7; French, Matt 1-1;
Jones, Crayton 1-1; Turner, David 1-2; Clark, Kevin 0-3), Armstrong Atlantic
6-17 (Hall, T.T. 3-5; Tolbert, Dwight 2-7; Wilson, Calvin 1-3; McKenzie,
Keron 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Turner, David, Armstrong
Atlantic-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 41 (Jones, Crayton 7), Armstrong
Atlantic 36 (Moultrie, Brian 8). Assists--Francis Marion 17 (Jones, Crayton
8), Armstrong Atlantic 9 (Robinson, Gabriel 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion
19, Armstrong Atlantic 17. Technical fouls--Francis Marion-None. A-468