January 23, 2020 – The Santa Fe Saints men’s basketball team rolled into Ocala Wednesday night having lost three of four Mid-Florida Conference games by a combined total of six points. But head coach Chris Mowry’s team turned the tables on the nation’s No. 14 ranked Patriots of the College of Central Florida with an 82-68 win.
Josiah Tynes got the Saints offense going in the first half with three 3-pointers and 16 of his game-high 26 points before halftime, leading to a 43-31 Saints lead at the break.
“After a slow start offensively by both teams, we got hot from the outside, and got a nice lead,” said Mowry. “Josiah hit three, 3’s and had 16 points by half. Nikola was strong driving the ball and got fouled several times, ending the half with 11 points.”
Ryan Leonard heated up in the second half for the Saints with all nine of his points after intermission after limited playing time in the first stanza due to a pair of early fouls.
The Patriots made multiple runs in the second half, but the Saints were able to hold off the comeback and bring home a win.
“This was a great defensive effort for 40 minutes,” said Mowry. “A great team win over a very good CF squad.”
Tynes’ 26 points is a college career-high while Nikola Jerotic scored 19 and Yaw Obeng-Mensah 13 for the Saints.
SF (9-12, 2-3 MFC) will host Daytona State in another MFC matchup Saturday at the SF gymnasium with the women’s teams tipping off at 2 p.m. and the men immediately following at about 4 p.m.
For all SF Athletics schedules, stats and more visit santafesaints.com.