#3 Jaguars claw Francis Marion 89-62
AUGUSTA, GA - Third-ranked Augusta State University used an 18-1 run early in the second half to pull away from Francis Marion University for an 89-62 win Saturday night (Jan. 9) in a battle for first place in the Peach Belt Conference's East Division.
Francis Marion drops to 11-2 overall and suffers its first PBC loss in four games (3-1). ASU improves to 13-0 and 5-0 and has a chance to move into the top spot in next week's Division II Top 25 poll as the top two teams both suffered losses this past week.
Senior guard Kendrick Robinson led FMU with 14 points, while senior Kaylan Anderson added 11.
The PBC's career scoring leader Ben Madgen led the Jaguars with 22 points while guard Daniel Dixon added 20.
ASU scored the game's first seven points and never trailed. The Jaguars rolled to a 21-6 margin only to see Francis Marion rally to within 28-21. ASU extended its lead to 45-27, but FMU scored the final six points of the half to pull to within 45-33.
A three-pointer by Robinson brought the Patriots to within 47-40 early in the second stanza. ASU responded with its 18-1 run to go up 65-41 before a crowd of 2,301 in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
FMU was 2-4 against ranked opponents last year and now drops to 3-18 against Top 25 opponents over the past nine seasons.
The Patriots play at USC Aiken on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
1-9-10 8:00 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
#3 AUGUSTA STATE 89, FRANCIS MARION 62
FRANCIS MARION (11-2, 3-1 PBC)
Robinson, Kendrick 4-8 4-6 14; Anderson, Kaylan 3-9 4-7 11;
Boyd, Simel 4-8
0-2 8; Turner, David 2-5 1-2 7; Gullatte, Edward 3-6 0-0 6;
Petreikis,
Mindaugas2-2 0-1 4; Smith, Andrew 2-3 0-0 4; Julious, Bryant
2-6 0-0 4;
Peterson, Andy 0-0 2-2 2; Mains, Herman 1-4 0-0 2; Candelaria, Mike
0-2 0-0
0. Totals 23-53 11-20 62.
AUGUSTA STATE (13-0, 5-0 PBC)
Madgen, Ben 8-12 3-4 22; Dixon, Daniel 7-11 0-0 20; Smith, Alex 6-9
3-3 16;
Brathwaite, Fred 6-12 2-4 15; Hire, Greg 2-5 4-5 8; Ndongo, Franck
1-3 1-3
3; Keels, Travis 1-1 0-0 2; Brown, Howard 1-1 0-0 2; Morra, Dominic
0-1 1-2
1; Brown, Caleb 0-0 0-0 0; Beal, Tye 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-56
14-21 89.
Halftime: Augusta State 45 Francis Marion 33.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 5-17 (Turner, David 2-3; Robinson,
Kendrick
2-5; Anderson, Kaylan 1-4; Julious, Bryant 0-2; Candelaria,
Mike 0-2;
Gullatte, Edward 0-1), Augusta State 11-19 (Dixon, Daniel 6-10;
Madgen, Ben
3-5; Brathwaite, Fred 1-1; Smith, Alex 1-1; Ndongo, Franck 0-2).
Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Augusta State-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 26
(Robinson, Kendrick 4), Augusta State 38 (Hire, Greg 11).
Assists--Francis
Marion 13 (Candelaria, Mike 4), Augusta State 21 (Dixon, Daniel
11). Total
fouls--Francis Marion 24, Augusta State 18. Technical
fouls--Boyd, Brathwaite. A-2301
