GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe College Men's Basketball evened the season series with receiving votes Eastern Florida (16-7, 6-2 Central), prevailing for their fourth straight win with a 68-53 outcome over the Titans.

The win was Head Coach Chris Mowry's 350th as a Saint, improved SF to 11-0 on their home court, and kept the Saints right in the thick of the top of the Central Conference standings with Polk State and the Titans.

First Half – SF 33, EF 21

Santa Fe came out well as it often does on the home floor, coming out to a 13-7 lead. Nicolas McClain had five early points.

The Saints built a double-digit advantage, 23-13, on the strength of a 10-4 spurt, capped off by a Bradley Douglas step-back jumper from the top of the key.

Five unanswered points gave SF what would prove to be their largest lead of the half, 31-18, with 2:53 on the clock, and the lead sat at 12 at the halftime horn.

Douglas had already reached double-digits with ten points, while the Saints' physicality and defense helped limit the Titans to a measly 29 percent from the floor (9-of-31) and forced 11 turnovers.

Second Half – SF 68, EF 53

The second half continued to be a physical, grinding affair as both teams attacked the glass and made things hard to come by on the offensive end.

Eastern Florida drew to as close as seven, 53-46, with about five minutes to play, but six straight points from the Saints all but put the game out of reach, concluding with a Douglas steal and jam on the other end.

The Saints were solid in the final minutes and whittled the clock away to preserve the win.

Key Statistics

Eastern Florida only led after the game's opening bucket.  

SF forced the Titans into 20 turnovers, 13 of which were steals, and Eastern Florida only shot 21-of-62 from the field (33.9 percent).

Mowry's 350th win only increases his number as the winningest coach in program history. 

McClain finished with a career-high 20 points with four triples. His final two points came via an emphatic dunk in the open court in the final seconds. He added six rebounds and three steals.

Douglas had 19 points with three triples of his own. Brandon Farmer also reached double-figures scoring with 12 points, adding ten rebounds for a double-double, his second of the season. Farmer went a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, and the team was 12-of-12. Nikolaos Noumeros once again made an impact from the frontcourt, leading the team with 11 rebounds and chipping in eight points.

Up Next

The Saints (17-4, 5-2 Central) host Florida State College at Jacksonville on Monday, Jan. 30. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the SF Gymnasium.