GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe men's basketball earned a crucial split with Polk State College in their first two meetings, keeping the standings tight atop the Central Conference with a convincing 74-58 victory over the Eagles inside the SF Gymnasium.

First Half – SF 31, POLK 22

The game was back-and-forth for much of the opening half and became tied for the fifth time at 18-18 at the 8:03 mark.

SF closed the half on a 13-4 run, sparked by six points from Eddie Foster III. The forward had the half's final basket from the paint, beating the expiring shot clock on an inbound pass from Bradley Douglas.

Second Half – SF 74, POLK 58

The Eagles started to find some momentum at the start of the second half, and tied the game for the sixth time, 38-38, with 13:58 on the clock.

The Saints would find another gear though and kept Polk State from ever regaining the lead.

A dominant 17-1 run from SF gave the hosts a 55-39 lead at the 7:10 mark, capped off by a second chance bucket in the paint from Douglas.

Douglas was a key orchestrator of the offense throughout the game-changing stretch of play, and the Eagles were held scoreless for nearly six whole minutes as SF took control.

The lead swelled to as large as 18 points in the final minutes, and although Polk State made every attempt to extend the game, SF did what was needed to preserve the victory, handing Polk State just their second loss in Central Conference action.  

Key Statistics

The Saints continued to be a juggernaut on their home floor, improving to 13-0 in 2021-2022.  

SF held Polk State to just 28.4 percent from the field, and the Eagles were especially cold from beyond the arc (2-of-28).  The Saints in contrast went 26-of-53 (49.1 percent), 7-of-20 from deep, and 15-of-20 from the free-throw line.

Douglas had an efficient game-high 20 points to go along with six assists. Foster III had a career-high 17 points on 7-of-11 from the floor, and he tied for the team-high with seven rebounds. In the starting frontcourt, both Nikolaos Noumeros and Brandon Farmer added nine points and seven rebounds.

Up Next

The receiving votes Saints (19-5, 7-3 Central) head off to Daytona State College on Wednesday, Feb. 9. The game with the Falcons begins at 7:30 p.m.