Patriot marksman on target for 75-67 win over #24 Montevallo

MONTEVALLO, AL - Senior guard Kendrick Robinson scored a game-high 22 points to pace a hot-shooting Francis Marion University squad to a 75-67 road win over 24th-ranked University of Montevallo, Sunday evening (Jan. 31) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion connected on 60.5 percent of its shots on Sunday to up its overall record to 16-3 and its PBC mark to 8-2.  The Patriots earn a split of its weekend road trip against two nationally ranked Peach Belt opponents.

Robinson hit 6-of-8 shots, including 3-of-5 three-point attempts, and made 7-of-9 free throws.  He also recorded three assists and three steals.  Junior swingman Simel Boyd missed only one shot in seven attempts en route to 14 points and a team-high five rebounds.  Junior guard Bryant Julious led a decisive effort by the Patriot bench with a season-high 12 points, three assistsand three steals.  The FMU reserves outscored the Montevallo bench 28-14.

Guard Freddy Little and forward Gerald January led Montevallo (16-3, 6-3) with 21 and 20 points respectively.

Trailing 12-8, FMU scored 11 consecutive points to take the lead for good.  Backcourt reserves Julious and Herman Mains combined for nine of the 11 points.  The Patriots held a 33-30 halftime advantage after shooting 56.5 percent over the opening 20 minutes.

Francis Marion exceeded the effort over the final 20 minutes, hitting on 13-of-20 second-half shots, including 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc.

FMU expanded its halftime lead to 46-35 following a three-pointer by Robinson with 16:35 on the clock.  Following a Montevallo bucket, the Patriots scored seven straight points -- three-pointers by Robinson and Boyd and a free throw by Julious -- to claim a 53-37 lead with 14:18 remaining.  A layup by Robinson upped the FMU advantage to 61-44 with 9:33 left, but the Falcons answered with a 15-2 spurt that cut the margin to 63-59 with 5:13 left.

The Patriots responded by scoring the game's next five points to push the margin to nine points at 68-59.  FMU hit 7-of-9 free throws, including 6-of-6 by Robinson, during the final two minutes to seal the victory.

FMU will travel to UNC Pembroke on Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

1-31-10 4:00 p.m. at Montevallo, AL (BankTrust Arena)
FRANCIS MARION 75, #24 UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO 67
FRANCIS MARION (16-3, 8-2 PBC)
Robinson 6-8 7-9 22; Boyd 6-7 1-1 14; Julious 4-7 2-4 12; Turner 2-4 1-1 6; Anderson 2-7 2-2 6; Mains 2-2 0-0 4; Candelaria 1-1 0-1 3; Petreikis 1-4 0-0 2; Gullatte 0-1 2-2 2; Faulkner 1-1 0-0 2; Smith 1-1 0-0 2; Peterson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-43 15-20 75.
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO (#24  16-3, 6-3)
Little 5-15 7-7 21; January 7-13 6-10 20; Richard 3-4 3-4 9; Plaza 3-8 0-0 7; Lovell 2-3 0-4 4; Coleman 1-7 2-2 4; Westbrooks 0-5 2-2 2; Severtsgaard 0-0 0-0 0; Dortch 0-0 0-0 0; Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 20-29 67.
Halftime: Francis Marion 33 Montevallo 30.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 8-15 (Robinson 3-5; Julious 2-3; Boyd 1-1; Turner 1-3; Candelaria 1-1; Anderson 0-2), Montevallo 5-19 (Little 4-11; Plaza 1-4; Coleman 0-1; Westbrooks 0-2; Brown 0-1). Fouled out--Smith. Rebounds--Francis Marion 29 (Boyd 5), Montevallo 28 (January 10). Assists--Francis Marion 19 (Anderson 5), Montevallo 10 (Richard 4). Total fouls-Francis Marion 28, Montevallo 18. Technical fouls--None. A-875