January 25, 2012 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF MEN’S BASKETBALL
HARDEN AND THE SAINTS EDGE OUT CENTRAL FLORIDA, 68-64
Gainesville, FL – Kevin Harden poured in a game high 21 points on Wednesday night, giving the FCSAA #4 Saints their fourth win in a row and avenging a 78-56 loss to #5 College of Central Florida (16-7, 3-2 MFC) on January 7. Three other Santa Fe players scored in double figures to move SF to 18-3 on the season and 4-1 in the MFC, putting them in first place.
“This was a great win against a very good team,” said SF Coach Chris Mowry. “I’m proud of the effort we showed on both ends of the court.”
The two Mid-Florida Conference rivals went back and forth throughout the first half, with each team leading on multiple occasions. Santa Fe (18-3, 4-1 MFC) trailed by four with 2:46 left in the period but Harden scored four straight points for SF to knot the score at 29-29 at the half.
CCF’s Hunter Williams started the second half off with a deep three pointer but for the next 16 minutes, Santa Fe controlled the action, leading by as many five until a late run by the Patriots tied the score at 62-62 with 3:15 to play.
Harden gave the Saints back the lead when he stole the ball and threw down an authoritative one handed dunk to put SF up 64-62. The Patriots Luis Jacobo made two free throws on the ensuing possession to tie things back up but Matt Conway answered with a three pointer to give Santa Fe the lead for good.
Ahead by three with under 20 seconds to go Marko Djekovic made the play of the game for the Saints, stealing a CCF outlet pass to seal the game. He made one of two free throws for the final 68-64 margin.
“We did a really solid job holding our own inside tonight against a much bigger Central Florida team,” said Mowry. “Our players worked hard, fought for loose balls, scrapped for rebounds and that was a big reason we came out on top tonight.”
The Santa Fe defense forced 20 turnovers with 13 of them steals. Marko Djekovic, Matt Conway and Junior McLeod joined Harden in double figures with 11 points each. Altavious Carter and Brian Holmes chipped in six apiece.
“Kevin did a great job tonight scoring the basketball, especially finishing around the rim,” said Mowry. “He is extremely explosive and is tough to stop when he gets by his defender. Matt hit a few big shots for us in the second half, Junior was very efficient inside and Marko had one of his better games on the season. This was truly an all-around team effort tonight. I’m proud of all the guys for the fight they showed tonight.”
The Saints travel to Daytona State on Saturday, January 28 for a MFC tilt against the Falcons scheduled to tip-off at 4:00 PM. The women precede the men at 2:00 PM against DSC.
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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