Eastern Florida Comes Back to Defeat Men's Basketball, 78-73
March 20, 2021

Eastern Florida Comes Back to Defeat Men's Basketball, 78-73

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe College men's basketball had a halftime lead slip away against Central Conference leader Eastern Florida State College, as the Saints fell to the Titans 78-73 inside the SF Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. 
 
The loss spoiled a career-high 38 points from Bradley Douglas, as the guard scored from all over the floor in the defeat. 
 
First Half – SF 39, EF 30
The Saints played a great first half, and were lights out from beyond the three-point line, making eight three-pointers to help establish a 39-30 lead over the Titans.
 
Douglas had five of those three-pointers, pouring in 19 first half points from the backcourt. 
 
Second Half – EF 78, SF 73
Eastern Florida gradually began to work their way back from the halftime deficit, and made it a two-point game, 54-52, with a 7-0 run nearing the midway point of the half.
 
The Titans took their first lead of the half, 61-60, after a basket and the foul with 5:40 left to play. 
 
After the lead changed hands on a few occasions, Eastern Florida had a reverse layup bring the score to 69-65 with two and a half minutes to play. It was the Titans' first two-possession lead since early in the opening half.
 
After Douglas had a contested finish in the paint, the Titans seized a 73-67 lead with back-to-back buckets on the interior. 
 
Douglas sunk two free-throws with 1:10 to play, and SF took a timeout trailing 73-69. The Saints earned a stop and the possession arrow on a jump ball went their way with just 40 seconds left.
 
Jay Medor had a good look at a three-pointer, but missed the mark, and the Titans grabbed the defensive rebound. 
 
After the Titans made 1-of-2 from the line, Medor was fouled and made both to make it a one-possession game once again. Santa Fe's press was broken by the Titans, however, leading to a layup on the other end to bring the score to 76-71.
 
The final basket was a Medor driving layup, but the Titans sealed the 78-73 win with two makes at the free-throw line after the Saints were forced to foul. 
 
Key Statistics
Santa Fe tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers, seven of which came from Bradley. The guard led SF with a career-high 38 points, with 19 in each half. He made 13 field goals and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. 
 
Medor had 15 points, and Yaw Obeng-Mensah chipped in with nine to complement the big night from Douglas. 
 
A Moment with Mowry
"I'm proud of our team and the effort and determination they played with today," said Head Coach Chris Mowry. "I feel awful for them that it wasn't quite enough to beat the first place team in our conference. We played outstanding on both ends in the first half. EF was more aggressive driving to the basket and on the offensive boards in the second half, which caused us problems. We continued to score at a good rate, but their ability to hit big shots late in the shot clock and at the free-throw line won the game for them. Bradley Douglas had a huge game today, along with good outings from Medor and Obeng-Mensah."
 
Up Next
Santa Fe (5-10, 2-9 CC) heads to Florida State College at Jacksonville on Monday, March 22 for a 7:30 p.m. game. 

 

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