The Selma Saints’ comeback came up short, as they fell 53-47 to the Francis Marion Rams Friday at Wallace Community College-Selma.

Johnny Mccalpine, head coach of the Rams (16-5, 7-1), said his team’s tough defensive play was the reason they were able to hang on for the win.

“We worked hard and played good defense,” Mccalpine said. “We missed a lot of free throws, but we hung in there and just pulled it out.”

Woodie Jackson, head coach of the Saints (15-10, 4-2), said the tempo of his former team, as well as some mistakes by the Saints, played a huge part in the game.

“They made us play a little faster than we wanted to play,” Jackson said. “We missed a lot of shots and had some turnovers. We just need to slow it down and play defense like we have the last couple of games.”

The Saints tied the game up at 28-28 in the third quarter after trailing early but still found themselves behind late in the fourth quarter.

Selma’s Demario Gunn scored on a thunderous slam that cut the Rams’ lead to 45-40 and sparked the Saints with 4:31 remaining in the game.

The Rams answered back with a layup by Demetrius Bates, but Gunn scored again for the Saints making it a 47-42 game with 2:56 left.

After the Rams missed on their next possession, Selma’s Darion Alexander scored under the basket to cut Francis Marion’s lead to 47-44 with 1:59 left to play.