RIVERA'S 15 NOT ENOUGH AS SAINTS FALL TO IRSC, 69-61

November 7, 2009

November 7, 2009 Contact: Scott Jamison 352-395-5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu

SFC MEN'S BASKETBALL

INDIAN RIVER KNOCKS OFF SAINTS, 69-61

Gainesville, FL – Aundra Williams was a force in the paint for the Pioneers of Indian River State College (2-0) as they pulled the upset against #7 Santa Fe College (2-1) on Saturday afternoon. Williams had 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.

"Indian River played very well today," said Santa Fe Head Coach Chris Mowry. "They played very hard and beat us inside on both sides of the court. Their post players were especially good with their 18 offensive rebounds."

Chris Baez and Marlon Rivera did what they could for the Saints, scoring 19 and 15 respectively.

"Offensively we had some open looks that we couldn't knock down in the first half," said Mowry. "Chris did a good job for us scoring the ball and Marlon as well, but we have to do a better job of hitting open shots."

Indian River took the lead from the opening part of the game, with the Saints only leading twice in the first half. With SFC down by five with two minutes to go in the first, Chris Baez hit a three to cut the lead to two. After two made free throws, IRSC took a four point lead into the break after a low scoring first period, 25-21.

IRSC stretched their lead at the beginning of the second half, scoring the first five points to make it 30-21. Santa Fe answered with the next five points on a Rivera lay-up and a three pointer by Iran Hollis. In what would turn out to be a half full of runs by both teams, the Pioneers countered with six straight points to push the lead to double digits for the first time all game, 36-26.

"I was proud of our team's effort in the second half," said Mowry. "We kept fighting and didn't give up. We just couldn't get over that hump and every time we would cut it to four or five, Indian River had an answer."

The Saints would get the lead down to 65-59 with a minute to go, but couldn't inch any closer.

"Our team is a work in progress and today we weren't good enough," Mowry said. "Indian River was the better team in this game. Hopefully we can improve and get ready for next weekend when we play them again. For now we have to learn from this loss and get ready to play again tomorrow against the Tampa Swish."

The Saints take to the court again tomorrow against the Tampa Swish at 1:00pm.

Admission is $3 for the general public, $2 for military, seniors and children and FREE for SFC students, faculty and staff, and children under 12.

For complete schedules and more information on Saints Basketball, please visit santafesaints.com. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook

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