AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State shot 65.2 percent from the field in the first half Wednesday night and picked up a 71-61 Peach Belt Conference victory over Francis Marion in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The win was the seventh straight for the No. 8 Jaguars, who improved to 20-4 overall and 15-2 in the PBC. With the victory, ASU has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons and has recorded 20 or more wins in four of the last eight seasons. The Jags have now won 20 games in a season nine times and have turned in back-to-back, 20 win-seasons on five occasions.

Junior center Jason Killeen came off the bench to pace ASU with a career-high 12 points, connecting on 3-of-5 field-goal attempts and 6-of-8 free throws. Junior center Garret Siler and sophomore guard Daniel Dixon tallied 11 points each, while AJ Bowman and Demetrius Howard chipped in 10 each. Bowman moved into fifth place on the ASU career scoring list with 1,603 points, passing Darrell Holder (1,594 points from 1976-80).

Sam Smith led FMU (10-14, 4-13 PBC) with a game-high 17 points, with Nate Morley, Simel Boyd and Houston Power posting 14, 12 and 11 points, respectively.

ASU jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed. The Patriots fought back, forcing ties at 9-all and 12-all before the Jags closed the first half on a 26-7 run. ASU led by as much as 22 in the second half following a pair of free throws from Jamie Quarles at the 13:34 mark.

FMU wouldn’t go away, shooting 56.7 percent in the second half and connecting on five treys over the final 12 minutes to stay in the game. All of Morley’s 14 points came in the final 17 minutes.

The Jags set a season-high in blocked shots with 11 – seven by Bowman and Siler -- and committed just eight turnovers, one off their season low.

ASU hits the road for the first of two straight away games, facing North Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4:00 p.m. before battling Columbus State on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Jags return home to close out the regular season on Saturday, March 1 with Senior Day vs. Georgia Southwestern.

Official Basketball Box Score
Francis Marion vs Augusta State
02/20/08 8:00 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Francis Marion 10-14, 4-13 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
34 Clark, Kevin........ f  1-9    0-4    0-0    3  2  5   2   2  1  2  0  0  21
20 Morley, Nate........ g  5-10   4-5    0-0    1  0  1   3  14  3  0  0  0  28
23 Baker, Cortne'...... g  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
24 Boyd, Simel......... g  6-10   0-1    0-0    2  2  4   4  12  1  0  0  0  30
33 Smith, Sam.......... g  7-14   1-1    2-2    3  5  8   3  17  0  1  0  0  35
02 Jones, Crayton......    0-3    0-0    0-0    1  5  6   0   0  5  1  0  2  17
03 Laney, Michael......    0-3    0-3    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  3  0  0  0  15
22 Power, Houston......    4-6    3-4    0-1    0  3  3   3  11  0  3  0  0  25
30 Burton, Rodrick.....    1-4    0-1    0-0    1  1  2   0   2  0  0  0  0   5
42 Turner, David.......    1-1    1-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   3  0  0  0  0   4
44 Stiglbauer, Carter..    0-3    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   3   0  3  0  0  0  19
   TEAM................                         3  3  6
   Totals..............   25-63   9-22   2-3   14 22 36  19  61 16  7  0  2 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-33 24.2%   2nd Half: 17-30 56.7%   Game: 39.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-13 23.1%   2nd Half:  6-9  66.7%   Game: 40.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-1   0.0%   2nd Half:  2-2  100 %   Game: 66.7%    0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Augusta State 20-4, 15-2 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Madgen, Ben......... f  3-9    3-7    0-0    1  1  2   0   9  3  1  0  0  29
23 Bowman, Tyrekus..... f  4-9    0-2    2-3    1  5  6   1  10  2  2  4  0  30
21 Siler, Garret....... c  4-4    0-0    3-9    1  1  2   4  11  3  3  3  0  24
02 Smith, Steve........ g  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  1  15
03 Howard, Demetrius... g  4-8    2-6    0-0    2  5  7   2  10  3  1  1  1  28
00 Dixon, Daniel.......    4-9    2-6    1-2    0  1  1   3  11  3  0  0  2  23
04 Quarles, Jamie......    0-0    0-0    2-2    2  3  5   0   2  1  0  0  0  10
05 Killeen, Jason......    3-5    0-0    6-8    0  1  1   1  12  0  1  2  0  16
24 Brown, Caleb........    1-2    1-2    3-4    1  5  6   0   6  1  0  1  0  15
33 Tambon, Luke........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   3   0  1  0  0  0  10
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   23-46   8-23  17-28   9 25 34  14  71 17  8 11  4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-23 65.2%   2nd Half:  8-23 34.8%   Game: 50.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-11 45.5%   2nd Half:  3-12 25.0%   Game: 34.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half: 14-21 66.7%   Game: 60.7%    3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Steve Coleman (R), Curtis Pierce (U1), Bill Daprano (U2)
Technical fouls: Francis Marion-None. Augusta State-None.
Attendance: 905
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Francis Marion................   19   42  -   61
Augusta State.................   38   33  -   71

Points in the paint-FMU 24,ASU 26. Points off turnovers-FMU 14,ASU 11.
2nd chance points-FMU 13,ASU 18. Fast break points-FMU 4,ASU 2.
Bench points-FMU 16,ASU 31. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-FMU 2nd-00:47, ASU 2nd-00:17.