State College of FL Defeats Santa Fe 97-80, End Saints Five Game Winning Streak
January 15, 2013
SF MEN'S BASKETBALL - 1/15/2013
Gainesville, FL – The State College of Florida Manatees lived up to their billing as the top scoring team in the country Tuesday night in Gainesville, defeating Santa Fe by a score of 97-80. Five players scored in double figures led by 20 from Denzel Myers.
"This was a tough loss tonight," said SF Coach Chris Mowry. "Their style of play is very unique, especially in Florida, in terms of their up tempo pace. They are very good at it and it is tough to slow it down."
The Saints (11-9) came out of the gates hot, scoring nine points in the first two minutes, seven courtesy of the nation's leading scorer Bobby Hunter. The Manatees (16-4) bounced right back and scored the next eight points for a 10-9 lead. The game was back and forth the rest of the first half with SCF taking a 47-45 lead into the break.
"We did a lot of nice things in the first half," said Mowry. "We shot the ball well and kept up with them most of the time. One thing we talked about at half time was taking care of the ball and shooting free throws better."
SCF established the pace early in the second half and built the lead up to double digits by the 12 minute mark. The Manatees continued to expand the lead and a three pointer by Isaiah Williams gave them their biggest lead of the game at 86-67. The Saints struggled to get anything going the rest of the way and SCF closed out the 17 point win. SF did not have a single free throw attempt in the second half.
"We struggled to score in the second half and they really did a nice job forcing the issue on us," said Mowry. "We had it within six a few times but every time they answered. They are a good team and we just didn't have enough to answer. I was still very pleased with our guys effort tonight."
SCF shot 62% from the field in the second half and 55% for the game. The Saints were also productive from the field shooting 50% but struggled from beyond the arc, going just 6-for-22 (27%).
Bobby Hunter led SF with 20 points and five rebounds, Roody Saint-Germain had 14 points and Deonte Moore scored 12.
The Saints open up Mid-Florida Conference play at home on Saturday, January 19 at 2:00 PM against the College of Central Florida.
For complete schedules and more information on Men's Basketball, please visit santafesaints.com. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.
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