SF MEN’S BASKETBALL
Gainesville, FL – Santa Fe freshman guard Reggie Hart brought the crowd to their feet with an impressive put back dunk early in the game against Eastern Florida (10-3) on Sunday evening and carried that momentum all the way to the end, leading SF to a 78-73 win over Eastern Florida.
“This was a good win for our guys against a very good Eastern Florida team,” said SF Coach Chris Mowry. “They [Eastern Florida] never quit and we almost gave one away there at the end. I’m proud of how we hung in there and finished the job.”
Hart led SF (11-3) with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Morris Marshall made his presence felt off the bench, scoring 14 points, all in the second half including two three pointers late in the game.
Takija Knight started the scoring for the Saints with the first four points of the game, both on second chance putbacks. From their SF trailed just once at the 12:33 mark of the second half.
Chad Milliken paced Santa Fe in the first period, going 4-for-4 from the three point line to help stake the Saints to a 33-23 lead at the break.
SF jumped out in the second half and pushed the lead to 15. A 14-0 run by the Titans quickly evaporated the Saints advantage and two minutes later Eastern Florida claimed their first and only lead of the game 43-42.
Hart and Morris quickly answered to put SF up by three. Over the next ten minutes the Saints went on a 28-13 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 74-56 with 1:41 remaining.
With the game seemingly wrapped up, the Titans decided they had other plans and nearly made an improbable come back. Eastern Florida pressed the Saints and scored 16 straight points, 12 off of turnovers to make it a two point game with four seconds remaining. Hart stopped the rally short with two free throws to secure the hard fought victory for the Saints.
Five players scored in double figures for SF. Hart with his 16, Marshall with 14, Chad Milliken 12, Jon Hood 10 and Takija Knight had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Saints will return to the court on December 18 at home against Hillsborough CC at 4:00 PM.
For complete schedules and more information on 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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