FLORENCE, N.C. – The King University men's basketball team got off to a hot start at Francis Marion University on Saturday afternoon. However, the Patriots worked their way back as the second half went back-and-forth. King grabbed the lead in the final 20 seconds, but Francis Marion's basket with 2.1 seconds remaining handed King a 99-98 defeat.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Francis Marion 99, King 98
LOCATION: Smith University Center; Florence, N.C.
RECORDS: King 4-9, 3-4 Conference Carolinas; Francis Marion 9-4, 6-1 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The Tornado got off to a hot start, making their first eight shots and 12 of their first 13.
- Jaylen Bernard, Michael Mays and Darron Howard all connected from long range as King took a 12-2 lead 2:30 into the contest.
- The King advantage grew to 31-16 following another Howard trifecta eight minutes into the half, and A Myles McCrary layup gave King a 39-27 with nine minutes remaining before the Patriots started to chip away at the Tornado lead.
- Francis Marion pulled within six, but a Henry Okoye free throw and layup extended the King lead back to 42-33.
- However, the Patriots then scored eight straight points to cut the King lead to one before three free throws from Mays.
- Bernard made a layup and Mays connected from long range to give King a 52-43 lead following the 8-0 spurt.
- Francis Marion would work their way back again, however, scoring seven straight points to pull within 54-52 in the final minute.
- The teams then traded baskets in the final 20 seconds of the half to give King a 56-54 lead at the break.
- King shot 58.8 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three in the opening 20 minutes while Francis Marion shot 61.1 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three-point range.
Second Half
- The second half was the opposite of the first half as there were 11 lead changes and 10 ties over the final 20 minutes.
- The first came three minutes into the half when Francis Marion grabbed their first lead of the game at 62-60.
- Francis Marion held the slim lead until Bernard knocked down a triple to give King a 79-78 lead with 12 remaining.
- The Patriots regained the lead and stretched the King deficit to 89-83 before Okoye knocked down a three-point basket and McCrary made a fastbreak layup following an Amarius Beasley steal.
- Following a pair of Patriot free throws, Beasley drilled a triple, evening the score at 91 with five minutes remaining.
- Mays evened the score at 93 before he assisted on a Kenny Turner dunk with 1:40 remaining to give King a 95-93 lead.
- The Patriots came back and scored the next four points to regain the lead before Mays made a floater and was fouled.
- He converted the three-point play to give King a 98-97 lead with 17.4 seconds remaining.
- Francis Marion's Bryce Beamer then made a turnaround jump shot from the right block with 2.1 seconds remaining to give the lead back to the Patriots at 99-98.
- The last attempt for King off of the mark at the buzzer as Franscis Marion took the contest 99-98.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- King shot 55.9 percent from the floor and 48.0 percent from three-point range as Mays led five scores in double figures with 25 points.
- Turner added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
- Howard and Bernard added 14 points each while Lamberth chipped in with 11 points.
- Mays handed out a team-high six assists.
FOR THE FOES
- The Patriots shot 57.6 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from three-point range.
- Jonah Pierce scored a career-high 30 points to lead four Francis Marion scorers in double figures.
- Alex Cox added 28 points while Tionne Rollins and Beamer chipped in with 17 points each.
- Rollins handed out a game-high nine assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Turner's 19 points set a career-high, topping his previous best of 17 set in November against Erskine College.
- Turner also set a career-best with four assists.
- Mays' six assists is a career-high, bettering his previous high of four.
UP NEXT
- King stays on the road to take on North Greenville University on Tuesday night. Tipoff from Tigerville, N.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- Francis Marion hosts Erskine College on Saturday.
