December 12, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF MEN’S BASKETBALL
SAINTS PULL OFF BIG WIN OVER PENSACOLA, 67-65
Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints trailed in the early going for the second day in a row, but this time they were able to come all the way back for a victory against Panhandle Conference foe Pensacola State College, 67-65.
PSC led by as many as ten in the first half, but the Saints managed to cut it to five on an Anthony Nwadigo layup with 22 seconds to go and a half court three point shot by Jerome Clyburn just before time expired, giving SF momentum going into the break.
“We got down early again but stayed in it and battled,” said SF coach Chris Mowry. “They pulled away a little bit toward the end but Anthony hit a big layup and with about 1.5 seconds Eddie [D’haiti] made a great pass to Jerome and he was able to knock it down to make it five instead of eight. That gave us great momentum going into the break.”
Santa Fe came out of the locker room on a mission, outscoring the Pirates 13-4 over the first five minutes on a three pointer Marko Djekovic and two by Branimir Mikulic to take a 40-34 lead.
“We came out and started knocking down some shots,” said Mowry. “Branimir has been in a little bit of a slump for the last three games but came up huge for us in the second half, scoring all 11 of his points.”
Pensacola made two straight three pointers to answer the SF rally, knotting the score at 40-40.
With Santa Fe down 47-43 with 10 minutes to go, Anthony Nwadigo and Eddie D’Haiti each made layups and Chad Renfro hit two three’s as part of an 11-0 SF run and a 54-47 lead.
SF held on to a six point lead until the two minute mark when PSC started chipping away, eventually cutting it to a one point margin with 46 seconds left.
Jerome Clyburn made the front half of a one and one and missed the second, giving Pensacola the ball down by two with 20 seconds left. The Pirates had two open looks, missing a mid range jumper and a follow up layup, giving SF the win.
“Jerome gave us 35 great minutes tonight,” said Mowry. “The ball is always in his hands, running things for us. He does a super job controlling the tempo.”
Santa Fe shot 68.2% in the second half (15-for-22) compared to only 29.6% in the first period (8-for-25). They were 12-for-14 from the free throw line for the game.
Chad Renfro led the way offensively, scoring 16 points with four three pointers, Branimir Mikulic had 11 with three three pointers, Jerome Clyburn scored 10 to go with four rebounds and Eddie D’Haiti had 10.
“Our guys have shown a lot of determination the last four games against some of the best teams in the state and country, even though we haven’t been on the winning end until this one,” said Mowry. “We were down double digits all four games and fought back to make each one a game in the last five minutes. I think it shows the kind of character this team has and that bodes well for the rest of the year.”
The Saints next game is at home on Wednesday, December 15 against Brevard CC at 2:00pm.
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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