November 2, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF MEN’S BASKETBALL
SAINTS OPEN SEASON WITH IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER AIKEN, 70-62
Gainesville, FL – Despite injuries to a number of key players coming into the game, the Santa Fe Saints (1-0) were able to pick up a big win on Tuesday night in their season opener against a tough Aiken Technical College team out of South Carolina.
“This was a super win and a great way to start the season,” said Santa Fe coach Chris Mowry. “Aiken is a very talented team. They presented a lot of problems for us in terms of their athleticism. We are a little short handed right now with only five guards and five post players, so we made the decision to play zone and our guys did a great job executing.”
The Saints got off to a hot start in the first period and led 12-2 at the 15 minute mark after a Mike Washington layup. Marko Djekovic (pictured) and Jerome Clyburn made three point shots one minute apart to push the lead to 31-14 with 5:30 remaining and Eddie D’Haiti gave SF their largest lead of the half with two free throws that made the score 38-19 at the break.
“Our players did a very nice job taking care of the ball and playing defensive in the first half,” said Mowry. “They [Aiken] shot only 20% from the field and made only two of fifteen three pointers. We also executed on the other end. They press and trap a lot and I thought our guys did a great job getting through the pressure with only five turnovers.”
Santa Fe controlled things to start the second half, increasing the lead to 60-28 on two free throws by Djekovic with 9:30 remaining.
Aiken would not give in however and managed to methodically trim the deficit over the next eight minutes. Lavaron Reason led the charge for the Knights, making four three point shots over a five minute span to help take the SF lead down to only four, 66-62 with just over one minute to go.
Chad Renfro and Jerome Clyburn both made two free throws a piece down the stretch to ice the game for the Saints.
“The last seven or eight minutes they did a good job knocking down shots and adjusting to our zone,” said Mowry. “It wasn’t necessarily our defense that let them back in the game. We got a little sloppy with the ball and turned it over 15 times, allowing them to get some easy baskets.”
Santa Fe shot 51% (21-for-41) from the field, 79% (23-for-29) from the free throw line and out rebounded the Knights 40 to 25.
“Even though it’s early in the season, I’m going to go home tonight thinking this is one of the better wins I’ve had in my eight years here at Santa Fe,” Mowry said. “We were extremely shorthanded and our guys did a great job stepping up.”
Marko Djekovic paced the Saints with 15 points and four assists, Jerome Clyburn scored 14, Chad Renfro had nine points and seven rebounds and Mike Washington scored eight.
The Saints host the Cabot Lodge Tip-Off Classic on November 5 and 6 and play St. Thomas JV on Friday at 8:00pm and Indian River State College on Saturday at 6:00pm.
For complete schedules and more information on Saints 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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