Gainesville, FL – In what was possibly the game of the season thus far for both teams, the College of Central Florida defeated Santa Fe College on a last second buzzer beater by Ivan Gandia. The game was a must win for the Patriots who’d started Mid-Florida Conference play 0-2.
Central Florida jumped out to an early advantage, controlling the flow of the game on both ends of the floor. The Saints fought back to tie the score at the eight-minute mark, and from there, it was the Nick Peacock show for the rest of the half. Peacock connected on all four of his three point attempts over a five-minute stretch and turned a tie ballgame into a nine-point SF lead. CF closed the gap slightly to a five-point halftime game, 47-42.
In the second half, the Saints (13-7, 1-2 MFC) held on to their lead and added to it over the first six minutes. The Patriots turned it on over a two-minute stretch and tied the game at 57-57, stealing the momentum back for the first time since early on in the game. Over the final 12 minutes there were 8 ties and six lead changes, the final coming on a last second floater by the Patriots point guard.
Nick Grier had a team high 23 points for Santa Fe, D-Juan Taylor-Hodge had 16, Darrell Jones and Nick Peacock had 12 each, and David Lee-Jones scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds.
Next up for the Saints is a nonconference match-up with Hillsborough CC Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. in Gainesville.
For complete schedules, stats and more information please visit www.santafesaints.com.