FMU men look forward to getting back home

For the first time in almost two weeks, Francis Marion’s men’s basketball team will play in front of the home fans at Smith University Center when the Patriots host Allen tonight.

A little home cooking might be just what the doctor ordered. The Patriots dropped an overtime heartbreaker in Newport News, Va., to The Apprentice School, and coach Gary Edwards said he would like to see as many fans as possible after 12 days on the road.

“We’re excited about playing at home. We’ve only played one home game so far this year,” he said. “We want to get the students and the fans out (to the Smith Center) cheering for us.

“We need that sixth man, which is the extra edge that you get from playing at home.“

Edwards added a victory over the Yellow Jackets could be huge for the Patriots as they enter Peach Belt Conference play.

“This is a big game, and a huge game for us,” said Edwards, whose team enters the contest 5-1. “Allen’s a good team, and we need to win this game to give us some momentum for Wednesday’s (conference opener against USC Aiken).”

FMU has received a mighty lift from transfer Robert Faulkner. The junior leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.8 points and 9.2 boards per contest.

Faulkner did not play in the loss to the Builders because of an undisclosed injury, and the team hopes to have his services tonight against the Yellow Jackets.

Junior swingman Simel Boyd averages 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Senior guard Herman Mains is hitting 40 percent of his 3-point attempts while scoring eight points per game. Mains scored 10 points in last Tuesday’s loss to the Builders.

“The men are pretty good,” Edwards said. “They’re much better than they were last year.”

Edwards continued that, although his team is shooting better, there are spots where the Patriots can always be better. FMU is shooting 47.4 percent from the field, but just 29.7 percent from distance while scoring 83 points per game.

FMU must improve on its free throw shooting as well. Through six games, Edwards’ squad has connected on just 55 percent of its chances from the foul line.

“I’m all about making the shots we can make,” he said. “Sometimes we fall in love with the (3-point) line. We need to improve our shooting percentage.”

Defensively, the Patriots have been even better. Opponents have shot just 37.4 percent from the field against FMU, 27.4 percent from the perimeter. The Patriots have also forced 26 turnovers per game.

“At times this year, we’ve played pretty good defense,” said Edwards, whose team forced 37 miscues against The Apprentice School. “At this point, our defense is ahead of our offense.”