Claflin Men’s Basketball Falls to Francis Marion in Overtime

Florence, S.C. (Claflin) — Triston Thompson scored all 14 of his points in the first half and had five steals as the Claflin University men’s basketball team fell to Francis Marion University (FMU), 84-78, in overtime at the Smith University.

Claflin drops to 15-7 overall while Francis Marion improves to 10-15 overall on the season.

The Panthers finishes the non-conference portion of their season with a 5-3 record.

Benjamin Williams was the only other Panther player to score in double-digits with 11.

Austin Lawton finished the game with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Detrek Brown led all scorers with 26 points and Brandon Parker contributed 23 points for FMU.  Kenneth Jackson and Josh Council scored 11 points apiece for the Patriots.

Jackson led all rebounders with nine.

FMU started the overtime period with a one-point advantage due to a technical foul on the Claflin bench at the end regulation.

The Patriots outscored Claflin 9-3 in the extra period en route to the six point win.

FMU opened the second half with a 6-0 run to take a 38-35 lead with just over 18 minutes left in the contest.

A jumper by Williams stopped the run and pulled the Panthers within one, 38-37,  at the 17:52 mark.  A dunk by Lawton gave Claflin the one point advantage, 39-38,  with 16:09 remaining.

The teams exchanged the lead over the next six minutes with neither team taking more than a four point advantage.

Neither team could distance itself as there were nine ties and 17 lead changes in the second-half.  There were 12 ties and 19 lead changes for the game.

Parker hit a free-throw with 8.2 seconds remaining to tie the game at 75-all.

The Panthers had one more look at the basketball but a three-point attempt by Miller fell short.

Claflin opened the game on a 9-2 run over the first three-plus  minutes.

FMU used a 7-2 run over a three-minute period to cut the deficit to one, 11-10, with 11:46 remaining in the half.

The teams continued to exchange points over the next four possessions.

Jackson hit a three pointer with 8:02 remaining to tie the game at 19-all.  Browning then hit a three pointer at the 6:55 mark to give the Patriots their first lead of the game.

FMU pushed its lead to four, 29-25, but a three-pointer by Albert Miller cut the deficit to one.

With the game tied at 32-all, a three-pointer by Thompson as time expired, gave the Panthers a three-point lead heading into intermission.

Claflin will host intra-state rivals Benedict, Wednesday, Feb. 15.  Tip-off  is immediately following the women’s game at approximately 7:30 p.m.