GREENWOOD – Mike Candelaria hit seven 3-pointers and scored 21 points, leading Francis Marion to an 82-58 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Lander Bearcats Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
The Patriots improved to 11-1 overall and 3-0 in the PBC. Lander fell to 5-7, 0-4.
Candelaria, averaging 5.4 points per game this season, had hit just six of 26 3-pointers on the season. But he nailed seven out of nine from behind the arc Wednesday, including several from well behind the line. The team was 10 for 19 overall (53 percent) from 3-point territory.
David Turner added 11 points and nine rebounds for Francis Marion while Simel Boyd and Edward Gullatte added 10 points apiece.
Brenton Harris led the Bearcats with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Greg Smalls added 13 points.
Lander missed nine of its first 10 shots from the floor and trailed 9-3 before closing within 9-8 on Darius Johnson’s bank shot, Harris’s free throw, and Curtis Milner’s jumper in the lane with 11:30 left in the first half.
Francis Marion responded with a 17-3 run, including Candelaria’s first three 3-pointers of the night and two fast-break baskets by Gullate for a 26-11 advantage with four-plus minutes left before halftime.
Candelaria’s fourth 3-pointer gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the half at 16 points, 30-14, at the 3:18 mark.
Harris finished the half strong for the Bearcats, scoring the team’s last nine points on a dunk off a pass from Dane Sparrow, another basket in the paint, a three-point play, and two free throws. The Patriots led 36-23 at the break.
Bryant Julious opened the second half with a 3-pointer to match Francis Marion’s largest lead of the game at 39-23. But after trading baskets, Lander scored eight unanswered points to close within 41-33 with 15:05 left when Smalls and Bailey hit 3-pointers, and Harris put back his own miss.
The Bearcats twice got within seven points, 42-35 and 44-37, on a basket by Harris and free throws by Sparrow. Francis Marion pushed its lead back to 12, 49-37, on Smith’s basket and Candelaria’s fifth 3-pointer.
Kendrick Robinson’s 3-pointer at the 10-minute mark gave the Patriots a 54-40 lead and Boyd’s three-point play gave the visitors their largest lead of the game at 17 points, 57-40, with 9:11 to go. Candelaria hit another 3-pointer to up the lead to 60-42.
The Bearcats tried to rally, getting five unanswered points on Jacob Mochoskay’s 3-pointer and Johnson’s basket to close within 60-47. But Candelaria once again killed Lander’s momentum, hitting his seventh trey of the night.
Gullatte’s steal and fast-break lay-up gave Francis Marion a 20-point lead at 74-54 with 2:30 to go. After the Bearcats cut it to 74-58 on Sparrow’s two free throws and DaShon Barrino’s basket, the Patriots closed the game on an 8-0 run.
For the game, Lander made 20 of 60 shots from the floor (33 percent), 13 of 23 free throws (57 percent), and five of 19 from 3-point range (26 percent). Francis Marion hit 28 of 53 shots (53 percent) and 16 of 25 free throws (64 percent). The Patriots had a 40-37 rebounding edge.
