Fans in attendance at Saturday’s Mid-Florida Conference game between Santa Fe and Central Florida got every bit of the game they came in expecting from two of the best teams in the state, even if they didn’t get the high scoring. Each team showed why they are capable of contending for the state championship with their solid defense and timely scoring.
“I told our guys I’m going to sleep well tonight,” said SF Coach Chris Mowry. “We of course always want to win, but our guys gave everything they had and we were in position to win this game. Central Florida is very good and they were just a little bit better than us today.”
Central Florida started the game on an 8-0 run and it wasn’t until the 16 minute mark that Santa Fe got on the board thanks to two free throws by Andre Horne.
The rest of the half was back and forth with six ties and three lead changes. The Saints closed with four of the last six points and took a small 27-25 lead into the locker room.
Santa Fe started the second half slowly, scoring just four points over the first seven and a half minutes of the period. The Saints clawed their way back into the game and closed it to three with under a minute to go.
SF forced a turnover with under 30 seconds and a chance to tie the game, but an outlet pass was stolen by Rasham Suarez who converted a floater to put the Patriots up by five. Santa Fe would get no closer as Chris Bryant hot two free throws to ice the game.
Morris Marshall did all that he could for Santa Fe, scoring 16 points. Shea Jones had nine, and Jordan Banks had eight points and nine rebounds.
The Saints will travel to Daytona State College on Wednesday, Jan. 29 for a 8 p.m game against the Falcons in an important MFC matchup.
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.