February 21, 2015

Gainesville, FL – Santa Fe College led by six at halftime on Saturday afternoon, but a second half charge by the visiting Daytona State Falcons proved to be too much for the shorthanded Saints as they rallied for the 77-68 win, clinching the MFC title. 

The silver lining is that although the regular season came to a close on a sour note, the Saints will still have a shot at the post season when they begin the Mid-Florida Conference tournament on Monday at home against Florida State College-Jacksonville at 7:00 PM.  The winner will face Central Florida in Ocala on Tuesday, February 24 for a spot in the FCSAA State Tournament.

Santa Fe trailed by as many as six in the early going, but rallied over the last ten minutes of the first half to take a five point lead into the locker room,

In the second half Daytona slowly chipped away and took the lead at the 14 minute mark, 45-44.  The Saints answered to go back ahead by two just minutes later, but the Falcons were up for the challenge, responding with a 22-9 run to go ahead 67-56. 

DSC never allowed it to get any closer than seven the rest of the way as they closed out the conference clinching win.

Jordan Benjamin scored a career high 21 points and seven rebounds to lead Santa Fe in both categories, Morris Marshall pitched in 15 points, and Jaquel Taft had 14.

"I was proud of how hard our guys played today," said SF Coach Chris Mowry.  "We only had seven active players and they left it all on the floor.  Now we have to move on and get ready for Jacksonville here on Monday."

The Saints will host FSC-J on Monday, February 23 at 7:00 PM in the SF Gym.  Fans can watch live on www.ihigh.com/santafesaints

For a full schedule, please visit www.santafesaints.com.  To watch live Saints games, visit www.ihigh.com/santafesaints

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