Box Score FLORENCE, SC--Francis Marion University ended USC Aiken's two game winning streak with a 71-58 victory over the Pacers tonight in Florence, S.C.  USC Aiken shot 29.6 percent in the first half as FMU built an eight-point lead at intermission.  USCA falls to 5-21 on the season and 4-14 in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC).  The Patriots improve to 13-12 overall and 8-10 in the conference. 

USC Aiken will close out the 2002-03 regular season with a game against rival Augusta State University, at "The Courthouse" on the USCA campus in Aiken, on Saturday.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

Bryant Latimer scored three of the first five USC Aiken points and two and a half minutes into the game the Pacers had a 5-0 lead.  Jaquan Bracey finally got the Patriots on the board with a jumper at the 17:16 mark of the first half.  Bracey recorded his league leading 10th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  He also added two assists, a block and two steals. 

Louis McCullough's two free throws gave the game its first tie, 7-7 with 13:42 remaining before halftime.  Travis McKie gave FMU its first lead of the game, 13-11, with a bucket at the 10:11 mark.  Francis Marion would not trail the remainder of the game.  McCullough finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Patriots. 

FMU built a seven-point lead with eight minutes left in the first half but two Lee Burton free throws cut the lead to three points, 24-21, with 2:39 to go.  Burton finished with a game-high 21 points. 

A 7-0 run, capped by two free throws by Randy Williams, in the closing minutes of the first half extended the Patriots' lead to 10 points, 31-21, with 33 seconds before halftime.  Latimer connected on two free throws with one second on the clock to cut the Francis Marion lead to eight points, 31-23, at the break.  Williams finished the night with a team-high 20 points for FMU on five-of-nine shooting from the field and 10-of-13 shooting from the free throw line. 

The Patriots extended their lead to 11 points on three separate occasions in the first three minutes of the secondhalf.  Latimer's three-pointer, after a Burton steal, got the Pacers within five points, 43-38, with 14:46 left in the game.  The junior scored 17 points on the night along with three assists and three steals. 

USCA would get no closer than five points.  Francis Marion followed Latimer's trey with a 15-5 run to build the Patriots largest lead of the game, 58-43, with 8:14 remaining.  Williams began the run with a jumper and ended it with a free throw.  In between, McCullough knocked down back-to-back three-pointers, the second coming after a turnover by Burton.  

USC Aiken would cut the lead to nine on three occasions in the final five minutes but each time the Patriots extended it back to double digits. 

Francis Marion out-rebounded the Pacers, 41-26.  Todd Williams led USC Aiken with eight rebounds.  The Patriots shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from the field in the second half and 46.9 percent (23-for-49) for the game.  USCA improved its shooting to 38.5 percent (10-for-26) in the second half and finished the game shooting 34 percent (18-for-53).  The Pacers forced 23 FMU turnovers and committed 18 of their own. 

SCORING: 
Francis Marion (71):  Randy Williams 20, Jaquan Bracey 12, Jarron Hinton 2, Mike Buglione 2, Travis McKie 2, Michael Jenkins 12, Louis McCullough 19, James McQueen 2 

USC Aiken (58):  Leroy Williams 1, Todd Williams 4, Minda Statkus 7, Bryant Latimer 17, Jamall Gray 2, Taurus Watson 4, Lee Burton 21, Mitch Lewis 2