Ellwood Christian nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback Friday night but fell short, missing free throws in the final seconds to fall to Francis Marion 81-77.

“Our team fought hard tonight, came back and got back in the game but free throws killed us in the end, “Ellwood Christian head coach Steven Hendrieth said. “Although we came up short I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress and I’m impressed with the way our guys played.”

The Rams led 63-48 at the beginning of the final period, but the Eagles rallied. Michael Lewis drained a trey and Jalen Furlow added five more points to make the score 78-77 with :58 remaining.

Ellwood had two free throw opportunities in the final seconds to tie or take the lead but went 0-4 from the line.

Furlow led Ellwood with 22 points.

The Ellwood Christian Lady Eagles also fell to Francis Marion Friday night, 63-34. Ebony Simpson led the Eagles with 27 points, including two 3-pointers.