FLORENCE - The Lander men's basketball team dropped to .500 on the season Wednesday night when the Bearcats lost to Francis Marion, 68-62, in the Smith University Center.

Francis Marion improves to 11-5 overall and 4-5 in the PBC, while Lander drops to 8-8, 4-6.

Greg Smalls led the way for the Bearcats with 13 points, while Houston Wright added 12. Brenton Harris had a team-high nine rebounds to go along with six points.

For Francis Marion, Anthony Walled had 14 points, Kendrick Robinson 11 and David Turner 10. Stanley Jones led the Patriots in rebounds with 10.

Lander, which trailed, 31-24, at halftme, connected on 21-of-63 field goals for 33.3 percent, including 6-of-23 three pointers fro 26.1 percent. The Bearcats were 14-of-21 from the free throw line for 66.7 percent.

FMU made 23-of-64 floor shots for 35.9 percent, including 10-of-22 three pointers for 45.5 percent. The Patriots connected on 12-of-16 foul shots for 75 percent.

Both teams had 43 rebounds.

Lander dominated the game early and jumped out to a 12-point lead at 19-7 on a Smalls layup with 10:18 remaining in the first half.

The Patriots followed with a 16-4 run and took a 23-22 lead with 5:22 left in the half on a Kevin Clark three pointer.

FMU held Lander to one field goal in the final 8:17 of the half.

The Patriots build up a 14-point lead twice in the second half, the second time at 50-36 with 10:27 left.

The Bearcats rallied and cut the lead to 63-59 with 1:48 remaining on a Smalls layup.