Polk Hands Saints First Loss of the Season, 68-61

November 23, 2011

November 22, 2011 Contact: Scott Jamison 352-395-5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu

SF MEN'S BASKETBALL

POLK HANDS SAINTS FIRST LOSS OF SEASON , 68-61

Gainesville, FL – Santa Fe's first road game of the season also proved to be their first loss as the Saints fell to 5-1 on Tuesday evening at the hands of the Polk State College Eagles, 68-61.

Kevin Harden (pictured) led the Saints with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, Keshaun Hamilton added 13 points and eight rebounds and Matt Conway scored 10 to go with nine rebounds.

SF came out flat in the first half and fell behind by 16 at the break, 39-23.

"We played very poorly on both ends of the floor in the first half," said SF Coach Chris Mowry. "We didn't have any energy, played too casual and didn't defend at all. Polk played hard all 40 minutes and we didn't."

Things improved in the second half as the FCSAA #4 Saints rallied to cut the deficit to seven with ten minutes to go. Polk (3-3) expanded the lead back to double digits, but SF managed to keep themselves in the game, trimming the margin to 66-61 with one minute to go. Polk made both free throws after a Santa Fe foul to push the lead back to seven and the Saints offense stalled the rest of the way.

"Our guys played better in the second half but it wasn't enough to come back from a 16 point deficit," said Mowry. "Hopefully we come out and play hard from the opening tip next Monday."

The Saints will take the Thanksgiving break off and return to game action on Monday, November 28 at Hillsborough CC. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this year. Santa Fe defeated the Hawks on November 19 by a score of 79-63.

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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