AMERICUS - Sparked by a 24-4 run to open the game, the Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team rolled to a 78-56 victory over Francis Marion on Saturday afternoon in the Storm Dome and improved its record to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the Peach Belt Conference.

GSW connected on 10 of its first 16 shots, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, to open a big cushion less than 10 minutes into the contest.

The Hurricanes largest lead in the first half was 22 points at 29-7 and again at 31-9.

Francis Marion (9-4, 3-3 PBC) cut the 22-point margin in half with an 11-0 run, but trailed at the halftime break, 39-24.

FMU could get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way as the Hurricanes continued to shoot over 50 percent from the field in the second half.

GSW pushed its advantage to a game-high 29 points with 5:11 remaining.

The Hurricanes finished the afternoon shooting 52.8 percent from the floor, while holding the Patriots to 36.8 percent.

Phillip Brown led four GSW players in double figures with 17 points. Trayce Macon added 16. Colin Slotter chipped in 13 points and Evan Mobley scored 10. Brown also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Liki Turner scored 20 points to lead Francis Marion and tied Brown with eight rebounds.

Southwestern, tied with Clayton State atop the west division of the PBC, returns to the hardwood tomorrow (Sun.) to host UNC Pembroke at 3:30 p.m.