January 14, 2012 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF MEN’S BASKETBALL
HARDEN LEADS SAINTS TO 68-60 WIN OVER FSC-J
Gainesville, FL – Kevin Harden poured in 17 points on Saturday afternoon as the Santa Fe Saints won their second straight Mid-Florida Conference game, improving their record to 16-3 overall and 2-1 in the MFC.
“This was a really good and important win for our team,” said SF Coach Chris Mowry. “You always want to win your home conference games and we’ve done a nice job of that our last two.”
Santa Fe shot a very efficient 55.3% (21-for-38) from the field, taking only 16 shots in the second half, but making nine of them count. SF held the Stars to 31.3% shooting on the game.
The Saints led for all but one minute on Saturday and built a 21-11 lead midway through the first half. FSC-J scratched back in and cut the margin to 27-23 with 1:25 remaining but a put back layup by Junior McLeod and a buzzer beating three point shot by Harden gave SF a 34-25 halftime advantage.
SF stepped up the defensive pressure to start the second period, allowing just eight points over the first 11 minutes, stretching the lead to a game high 52-33.
“We really came out and guarded well for most of the second half,” said Mowry. “We let it slip a little bit there at the end, but some of that credit has to go to FSC-J, they really battled all 40 minutes.”
The Stars slowly chipped away at the lead and cut it to single digits, 60-51 with 2:27 to go. Santa Fe stretched the lead back out to 65-53 thanks to free throws by Harden and AJ Roberts and held on for the eight point victory.
Altavious Carter joined Harden in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds, Paul Stone added eight points and six rebounds and Matt Conway scored eight.
Santa Fe will take a week off before traveling to St. John’s River State College on Saturday, January 21 for a MFC match-up against the Vikings at 4:00 PM.
“We’ve been able to take care of business at home and now we have to go prove we can win on the road,” said Mowry.
For complete schedules and more information on Saints Men’s Basketball, please visit www.sfcollege.edu/athletics. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.
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