February 17, 2016

Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints fought until the final buzzer on Wednesday night against Daytona State College, but came up just short against the Falcons in Gainesville, 88-81.  The loss ends the Saints chances of qualifying for the FCSAA Tournament.

Daytona jumped out in the first half and led by 19 at the break, 45-26.  SF (13-15, 3-5 MFC) rallied to start the second half and by the 16:43 mark had it down to 50-45 thanks in part to a barrage of three pointers from Alex Brown, LaBrian Shiflet, and Javon Heastie.

The Falcons answered and built the lead back to 17, but SF again bounced back, working their way all the way back to just four points down with under a minute to go.

Daytona hit free throws at the end, and the Saints weren't able to come up with the big baskets in the closing second, ending the game in an 88-81 final.

"I'm proud of the way our guys never gave up and fought all the way," said SF Coach Chris Mowry.  "We got off to much too slow of a start and that hurt us in the long run."

Leo Edwards led five SF players in double figures with 22 points.  Alex Brown, Ty Birts, and Javon Heastie had 13 each, and LaBrian Shiftlet had 11.

Santa Fe will wrap up their season on Saturday, February 20 in Ocala against the College of Central Florida at 7:30 PM.

For complete schedules, stats, and more information please visit www.santafesaints.com. 

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