SF MEN’S BASKETBALL – 11/20/2012
Gainesville, FL – Polk State College was sharp in the early going Tuesday night against the Santa Fe Saints, riding their quick start to a 60-54 win. Bobby Hunter did what he could for the Saints, pouring in 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting. The loss was the first for SF this season.
The Eagles jumped out to a 20-4 lead 11 minutes into the game, smothering SF (4-1) with their defense and capitalizing on second chance opportunities. The Saints answered with five straight to cut it to 20-9 and it was back and forth until a three pointer at the buzzer gave Polk a 37-19 lead at the half time break.
“We were out of sync in the first half and never found any sort of rhythm,” said SF Coach Chris Mowry. “We didn’t get enough loose balls and gave them too many second chances on offensive rebounds.”
The second period started much the same as the end of the first with both teams trading buckets. At the 8:56 mark however the Saints turned it on and outscored PSC 19-5 over the next five minutes to cut the lead to 54-49. Thats as close as it would get as the Eagles managed to force a turnover and an offensive foul on the next two ensuing SF possessions to seal the game.
“I’m proud of the way our guys never gave up,” said Mowry. “It would’ve been very easy to give in when they went up by 20 there at the start of the second half. Our guys dug deep and worked even harder to get back in it and give us a chance to win. They showed a lot of heart tonight.”
Hunter led all scorers with his 21 points and Takija Knight joined him in double figures with 10.
The Saints will return to the court on Saturday, November 24 when they travel to Bradenton to take on the State College of Florida Manatees at 4:00 PM.
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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