2008 Woodie Awards
Team captures 500 all-time wins
Power scores career-high 26 points during win at UNCP
Issue date: 1/22/08 Section: Sports
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The Jan. 16 milestone win came after the Patriots struggled to win during the first 27 of the program's 38 seasons.
FMU improved to 8-4 overall and 2-3 in the Peach Belt Conference at press time.
Francis Marion's first-ever win was a 76-68 victory over the University of North Carolina at Wilmington freshmen squad on Dec. 7, 1970, in the Southside High School gymnasium.
Power also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and handed out four assists. He hit eight of 10 field goal attempts, including five of six from beyond the three-point arc and all five of his free-throw attempts.
Sophomore guard Michael Laney added a career-high 15 points in his first start, and Ziyadah Carter scored 11 points.
Laney was eight of eight at the stripe as the team hit 23 of 28 charity tosses.
UNCP jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead, holding FMU to one basket during the opening six minutes.
The Patriots, however, outscored the Braves 28-14 over the final 13 minutes and 35 seconds of the first stanza to grab a 30-24 halftime lead.
A dunk by UNCP brought the score to 32-30 early in the second half, but Francis Marion gradually built a 51-37 advantage.
The spurt was capped by a four-point play by Power.
UNCP trimmed the margin to eight points, but a Laney three-pointer beat an expiring shot clock, Carter threw down an alley-oop dunk and Laney hit two free-throws to give the team a 62-47 lead.
FMU shot 64.7 percent from the field during the game and hit 14 of 20 shots in the final half, including seven of 10 three-point shots.
Because of their sharp shooting, the Patriots grabbed only one offensive rebound and garnered no second-chance points during the match up.
-- From campus reports
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