FMU spoils Thomas' homecoming

Thursday night’s meeting between Francis Marion and Morris College was a homecoming for Nathaniel Thomas.

The 5-foot-11 Morris shooting guard and former West Florence standout led all scorers with 21 points and even had a two-handed dunk off a steal in the first half that had even Patriots fans at the Smith University Center on their feet.

FMU, however, used more than one player to trump Thomas’ performance. The Patriots got 28 points from their bench, 20 in the second half, to grab an 81-73 win over the Hornets.

David Turner finished with 10 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting. Carter Stiglbauer and Rodrick Burton combined for 14 points, 12 in the second half.

“We’re getting good bench play right now,” said FMU coach Gary Edwards, whose team shot 69 percent (20-of-29) in the second half. “It’s a strength to bring (Turner, Burton and Stiglbauer) off the bench.”

Sam Smith led FMU with 18 points, 15 in the second half. Ziyadah Carter followed with 12 points, and Kevin Clark added 10.

Morris (1-8) used its speed to counter the Patriots’ size from the outset.

Down 8-2 early in the contest, the undersized Hornets went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:31. Thomas capped the outburst with a steal and layup that gave his team an 11-8 advantage with 16:17 remaining in the first half.

“He’s been that way all season,” said Morris coach Clarence Houck of Thomas, who also added four rebounds, four steals and two assists. “It was an added incentive coming back home to play.”

Then, Morris turned up the defense, forcing bad shots and several late turnovers. The Hornets converted the miscues into easy baskets and took a 32-27 lead at halftime.

In the second half, FMU (4-1) used its size to force the issue and erase the deficit. Turner and  Stiglbauer came off the bench to make key baskets during the 18-13 run.

Turner’s putback of a Zidayah Carter miss gave the Patriots a 45-43 lead at the 14:35 mark of the second half.  

The Patriots outscored Morris 50-40 in the paint in the contest with 36 coming in the second half.

“We were getting scoring inside the paint in the second half that we didn’t get in the first half,” Edwards said. “Our guys did a great job finishing off baskets tonight.”

Every time FMU tried to add to its lead, however, the Patriots either missed free throws, committed offensive fouls or turnovers. Each Patriot mistake kept Morris in the contest.

Finally, the Patriots squared themselves away and made a push to take the game. Consecutive baskets by Nate Morley and Rodrick Burton off Morris miscues opened FMU’s biggest lead, 67-58, with 3:37 left.

“Turnovers really hurt us in the second half,” said Houck, whose Hornets shot just 32.6 percent (15-of-46) in the second half. “We were a little too aggresive offensively on the floor.”

Reshrond Tucker added 16 points and and Christopher Owens had 15 for the Hornets.

FMU 81, MORRIS COLLEGE 73

MORRIS COLLEGE (1-8)

Thomas, Nathaniel 10-24 0-1 21; Tucker, Reshrond 6-10 4-6 16; Owens, Christopher 5-18 2-4 15; Nesmith, Kenneth 4-11 0-0 8; James, Randall 2-10 0-0 6; Beaufort, Justin 1-2 1-3 3; Kahee, Dominic 1-2 0-0 2; Adams, Stanford 0-1 1-2 1; McKinney, Jonquin 0-1 1-2 1; Scott III, Willie 0-0 0-0 0;Drummond, Ricky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-79 9-18 73.

FMU (4-1)

Smith, Sam 5-9 8-12 18; Carter, Ziyadah 4-9 2-2 12; Turner, David 5-5 0-2 10; Clark, Kevin 2-4 6-7 10; Stiglbauer, Carter 4-6 0-1 8; Jones, Crayton 3-4 1-7 7; Power, Houston 2-10 2-4 6; Burton, Rodrick 3-4 0-1 6; Baker, Cortne’ 1-3 0-0 2; Morley, Nate 1-4 0-0 2; Hampton, Andy 0-1 0-0 0; Peterson, Larnelle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 19-36 81.

Halftime:  Morris College 32  Francis Marion University  27. 3-point goals-Morris College 6-31 (Owens, Christopher 3-14; James, Randall 2-10; Thomas, Nathaniel 1-5; McKinney, Jonquin 0-1; Tucker, Reshrond 0-1), Francis Marion University 2-12 (Carter, Ziyadah 2-4; Power, Houston 0-3; Burton, Rodrick 0-1; Baker, Cortne’ 0-1; Morley, Nate 0-3).