Men's Basketball Edged at Hillsborough, 62-58
March 13, 2021

Men's Basketball Edged at Hillsborough, 62-58

TAMPA, Fla. – Hillsborough Community College closed the game on a 10-0 run Saturday to notch a 62-58 victory against the Santa Fe men's basketball team at HCC Gymnasium. 
 
The Hawks (3-11, 3-8 Central Conference) won two of the three games in the season series with the Saints (5-7, 2-6) after an 81-62 victory on Wednesday in Gainesville. 
 
First Half – SF 29, HCC 24
It was a slow start to the game offensively for both teams. Sophomore Yaw Obeng-Mensah scored Santa Fe's first four points, but Hillsborough was able to open up to an 8-4 advantage. 
 
From there, the Saints went on a 9-0 run that put them ahead 13-8 with 11:46 remaining in the opening half. 
 
After back-to-back baskets from the Hawks, Santa Fe held HCC scoreless for the next 7:45 and used a 16-0 run to extend its advantage to 29-12. The run started with a well-executed inbounds play by freshman Leonardo Da Campo. The scoring spree was fueled with seven points from sophomore Jay Medor and six from Da Campo. 
 
Hillsborough scored the final 12 points of the first half, courtesy of four three-pointers. The Saints took a 29-24 advantage into the locker room at intermission. 
 
Second Half – HCC 62, SF 58
Da Campo recorded the first basket of the second half, but HCC went on a 9-2 run over the next 2:10 to tie the game at 33-33. 
 
A pair of free throws by Medor at the 16:49 mark broke the tie and sparked a 6-0 run that included four points from Obeng-Mensah and put Santa Fe in front 39-33 with 15:04 remaining. 
 
The Hawks then used a 10-3 run to claim the lead at 43-42. After the squads exchanged baskets, a three-pointer from the top of the key by Da Campo began a 10-0 run by the Saints that put them up 56-47 with 7:10 remaining after a pair of free throws from Obeng-Mensah. 
 
A resounding dunk by Obeng-Mensah put Santa Fe ahead 58-52 with 4:58 left on the clock. But Hillsborough ended the game on a 10-0 run that secured the victory. 
 
Key Statistics
Medor led Santa Fe with a game-high 20 points. Da Campo (13 points) and Obeng-Mensah (12 points) joined him in double figures. That trio accounted for 45 of the Saints' 58 points on Saturday. 
 
Medor reached the 20-point plateau for the first time in his SF career. 
 
The Saints shot 16-of-21 from the free-throw line. 
 
Hillsborough was led by 12 points each from Louis Norton-Cuffy and Yohan Steve Yebga. 
 
A Moment with Mowry
"It was a tough loss tonight. We really struggled to score for the third straight game, shooting about 33 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. We played great defensively for the first 18 minutes. We missed numerous opportunities and had some careless turnovers at the end. Fifteen turnovers is way too many when we are struggling to score. I thought we played hard but couldn't hold on at the end. It's a quick turnaround as we go to St. Pete on Monday."
 
Up Next
Santa Fe returns to action on Monday, when it travels to St. Petersburg College for a 7 p.m. ET game. The game was originally scheduled for Feb. 17 before being postponed. 

 

Video Box Score

Team Stats