D-Juan Taylor Hodge led an offensive outburst on Saturday afternoon, scoring 24 points to lead the Saints (8-4) to a 95-92 win over a talented Miami-Dade College team. The Sharks came into their matchup averaging an NJCAA best 118.6 points per game and also lead the nation in field goal attempts and three point attempts.
“Miami Dade is a team that is tough to prepare for, especially when you don’t have a practice to really prepare like you would like,” said SF Coach Chris Mowry. “They trap full court or half court the entire game. I’m very, very proud of our teams effort the last two days. We are continuing to improve daily.”
The Saints took control towards the end of the first half and led 50-42 at the break. They doubled their lead to 15 just two minutes into the second half for their largest of the game. The Sharks slowly worked their way back into the game, closing it to just three points with less than a second left. Santa Fe got the ball inbounds and ran the clock out, preserving their 95-92 victory.
Four other players joined Taylor-Hodge in double figures. David-Lee Jones had 15, Sean Dinkins and Josh Hawkins had 12 each, and Nick Grier chipped in 10.
Miami-Dade will get another shot at the Saints when the two teams meet up next Saturday, December 10 in the first game of the Florida Colleges Shootout at 11:00 AM.
For complete schedules, stats, and more information please visit www.santafesaints.com.