Men’s basketball defeats Flagler

Trailing by one point with 3:30 remaining, FMU closed the Feb. 11 Homecoming contest with Flagler College with a 16-2 run to grab a 72-59 win in Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball action.

FMU moved into a tie for fifth place with Armstrong State University in the PBC’s East Division standings two-and-a-half games behind fourth-place Lander University.

For the second game in a row, sophomore guard Brandon Parker led the Patriots in points, this time with 18 points, 15 of which came in the final nine minutes. Junior guard Detrek Browning scored 14 points and moved to within four points of sixth place on the FMU career scoring list.

FMU junior forward Judah Alexander registered his sixth double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while reserve guard Josh Council added 10 points, four steals and three assists.

Sophomore forward Jeffercy Jean was the lone Saints player in double figures as he scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Flagler fell to 9-14 and 3-13.

FMU led by as many as seven points on two occasions in the opening half, the latter time at 22-15. However, FMU connected on only one field goal during the final 9:40 and Flagler rallied to take a 28-26 halftime lead.

Five consecutive points by the Saints to start the second stanza upped the margin to 33-26. The advantage would grow to nine points at 39-30, and with 6:57 left, FMU still trailed 53-46. Eight straight points by Parker over the next 1:10 gave the Patriots their first lead of the half at 54-53.

A dunk by Chris Williams put Flagler up 57- 56 with 4:42 on the clock, but FMU answered with five straight points to lead 61-57. After a pair of free throws by Jean cut the margin to 61- 59, FMU scored the final 11 points, capped by a fast break dunk by Alexander that electrified the Homecoming crowd of 1,319.

FMU shot 62.1 percent in the second half to aide in the rally. The Patriots held Flagler to 0-of-7 shooting during the final 4:30.

For the game, FMU connected on 43.3 percent of its field goal attempts, including 5-of-20 three-point shots and was 15-of-19 at the foul line. Flagler shot 36.4 percent, was 6-of-28 from behind the arc and hit 5-of-8 free throw tries.