Francis Marion Nips JCSU, 83-80

Francis Marion Nips JCSU, 83-80

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JCSU Sports Information

Box Score Bluefield, W.Va. (Nov. 27, 2015) –  The Johnson C. Smith University men's basketball team nearly came back from an 18-point second half deficit but Francis Marion escaped with an 83-80 win at the Bluefield State Currence Classic in Bluefield, W.Va. on Friday afternoon.

After being down 12 points at halftime, the Patriot lead ballooned to 58-40 at the 17:19 mark of the second half following an A.J. Jackson three-pointer.  JCSU would then start chipping away at the lead, trimming it to 58-47 with 15:10 to play after guard Dre Huntley (Monroe, N.C.) converted a driving layup.  Francis Marion would go on to extend their lead to 16 points at 65-49 on two free throws with 12:58 left.

JCUS then went on an 18-9 run over the next seven minutes to close the FMU gap to 74-70 with 5:13 to play following a Robert Davis, III (West Friendship, Md.) basket.  DMU then built their lead back to nine points at 79-70 before JCSU closed it to 80-78 with 40 seconds left after Christian Kirchman (Roanoke, Va.) got a layup to fall.

Down 83-80 after a Patriot free throw, JCSU had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but Huntley's shot was no good, allowing FMU to escape with the narrow three-point win.

JCSU shot 48.4% (31-64) from the field and a dismal 17.6% (3-17) from long range in the loss.  The Golden Bulls also left plenty of points at the line, converting only 15-of-23 attempts from the stripe for 65.2%.

Leading the way for JCSU was Diondre Pratt (Morven, N.C.).  The senior had 16 points while fellow senior Stedmon Lemon (Lithonia, Ga.) managed 15 on the night.  Sophomore Malik Ford (Salisbury, N.C.) was the only other JCSU player in double-figures, as he managed 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting effort.

Francis Marion got a game-high 24 points from Detrek Browning, while A.J. Jackson had 19 points.  Jackson hit five three-pointers in the game.

The loss drops JCSU to 4-2 on the year while FMU improves to 5-1.  The Golden Bulls will take on Concord on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. to finish play at the Currence Classic.
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