Monday, January 23, 2006

SAINTLY STARTERS LEAD NORTH GEORGIA PAST FRANCIS MARION 84-75

Florence, S.C. – Junior guard Matt Causey scored a game-high 23 points and handed out nine assists and the North Georgia College & State University starting five combined for 78 points as the Saints downed Francis Marion University 84-75, Monday evening (Jan. 23) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Following Causey for North Georgia (9-6, 6-4) was 6-7 junior center Mark Trust with 20 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Mark Causey added 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while forward Charles Mitchell chipped in 10 points.

Senior swingman George Walker paced Francis Marion (7-9, 2-7) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Rodrick Burton had career-high totals of 14 points and seven rebounds in his first career start, while seniors Michael Carter and Vony Rivers added 12 and 10 points respectively off the FMU bench. The Patriots have lost six of their last seven contests.

An up-tempo first stanza saw North Georgia hold a narrow 26-25 lead with 6:12 left before halftime. The Saints outscored FMU 12-6 over those final six minutes to carry a 38-31 lead into the lockeroom at intermission.

In the final 20 minutes, the Saints connected on 13-of-23 field goal attempts (56.5%) and 18 of 23 free throws (78.3%). The North Georgia advantage would grow to 20 points at 57-37 following a three-pointer by Mitchell with 12:45 remaining. Francis Marion narrowed the margin to 68-57 with 5:18 left after a basket by Walker.

A three-pointer by Carter further trimmed the deficit to 76-67 with 2:21 on the clock, but North Georgia converted eight of 10 free throws to secure the victory.

Francis Marion missed 15 of its first 16 three-point attempts and ended the eight of 34 from beyond the arc. For the game, North Georgia was 23 of 29 from the foul line, while the Patriots were five of nine. FMU committed only 10 turnovers, but for the third straight game, the Patriots allowed an opponent to shoot over 46 percent from the field, as the Saints shot 51.9 percent for the game.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. with Francis Marion playing at USC Upstate and North Georgia traveling to Augusta State University.

Box Score

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