GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For the first time since Feb. 13, Santa Fe men's basketball took the floor, suffering a 62-53 defeat at the hands of Central Conference opponent St. Petersburg.

First Half – SPC 35, SF 34

Leonardo Da Campo produced Santa Fe's first five points, and the Saints hit two early triples to grab a 10-4 lead out of the gate.

The Titans, however, chipped their way right back into it and were able to seize their first lead of the game midway through the half, 16-15.

A Jay Medor three-pointer proved to be the start of a 9-0 run from the Saints, as SF claimed what would be their largest lead of the contest, 24-16.

St. Petersburg responded with a big 10-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 27-26 with just under four minutes remaining.

A Bradley Douglas three-pointer halted the Titans' momentum, and the lead proceeded to change hands a couple of different times for the remainder of the half.

Josh Petteno's triple in the final minute gave the Saints a 34-32 advantage, but the Titans found the bottom of the net for a deep ball of their own with five seconds left to go into the break clinging to a 35-34 lead.

Second Half – SPC 62, SF 53

Both offenses came out a bit slow, with neither team able to gain separation from the other.

Santa Fe still trailed by one, 43-42, midway through the half. The deficit was just two, 50-48, after a bucket from Yaw Obeng-Mensah.

A 9-2 spurt from St. Petersburg proved to be a game-changer, however, as the guests took control to lead 59-50 in the final minutes.

Santa Fe's offense went dry and struggled to score, as the Saints were unable to make up any ground in the final moments of the 62-53 defeat.  

Key Statistics

The Saints' 19 points in the second half was their lowest total in a half this season. Santa Fe was also hampered by a subpar performance from the free-throw line, converting on just 12-of-21.

Medor and Douglas were the two Saints to reach double-figure scoring, with Medor putting in a team-high 14. Nine of Medor's points came in the second half. Douglas finished with 13.

A Moment with Mowry

"We looked rusty tonight after the long layoff and weren't able to get things going the way that we had hoped to," said Head Coach Chris Mowry.

"The free-throw shooting really hurt us. The guys played hard though and we will start to get ready for Hillsborough."

Up Next

Santa Fe (5-5, 2-4 CC) travels to play Hillsborough Community College on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. The Saints prevailed over the Hawks by a 78-57 score in Gainesville on February 3.