Florence, South Carolina – The University of South Carolina Beaufort men's basketball team squared off against the Patriots of Francis Marion to close out opening weekend, earning a 103–91 victory. The Sand Sharks hit the century mark for the second straight game, powered by two 50-plus-point halves.
With the win, the Sand Sharks improve to 2–0 on the season.
A balanced scoring attack carried USCB, as six players scored in double figures. Ismail Rashid led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds. Evan Kilminster added 15 points and recorded a game-high nine assists. The bench added 48 points in the game with 28 points off turnovers from the 17 forced.
The Sand Sharks opened the scoring after forcing a turnover on the first possession. Seth Cullen's steal led to a Dominic Eason three-pointer, which came after Cullen kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound. The defense continued its strong start when another steal—this time by Dylan Lewis—set up a fastbreak dunk by Cullen.
Francis Marion took its first lead at 11–10 just under the 16-minute mark, but Kevaughn Price responded with a three to put USCB back in front, 13–11. In a back-and-forth stretch, the teams remained tied at 15–15 for several minutes until a key three-point play by Cullen—finishing through contact and converting the free throw—gave the Sand Sharks the lead.
USCB then used a 16–5 run over the next three minutes, sparked by five points from Lukas Platauna, to stretch the lead to nine with just over six minutes left in the half.
The Patriots rallied to tie the game at 38–38, and the score was even again at 42–42 before a Rashid three-pointer and a layup pushed USCB back in front. Paladugu hit the final shot of the half to send the Sand Sharks into the break with a 50–48 lead.
Eason opened the second half with a three-pointer assisted by Kilminster to make it 53–48. Francis Marion pulled within one at 53–52, but USCB answered with an 8–0 run to restore a nine-point lead, 61–52, with 16 minutes remaining.
The Sand Sharks' lead reached double digits for the first time at the 12:42 mark on a Price layup that made it 67–56. The Patriots fought back once again, cutting the deficit to 73–72, but Eason drained a three to swing momentum back to USCB.
A 14–4 run, fueled by six points from Lukas Platauna, extended the advantage to 11 with four minutes to play, giving him 16 points on the afternoon and making the score 89–78. Lewis pushed the lead to its largest margin on a layup, his 10th point of the game, to make it 97–83.
USCB sealed the game at the foul line down the stretch, hitting the century mark for the second consecutive game and sealing the 103–91 victory to complete a weekend sweep in Florence with wins over Francis Marion and Emory & Henry.
The Sand Sharks are home for their home opener on Wednesday, November 19, taking on Florida Tech at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game at 5:30 PM.
Stay tuned to uscbathletics.com and follow Sand Shark Athletics on social media for the latest news, updates, and information.
