DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Santa Fe men's basketball fell into an early hole at Daytona State College but dug themselves out of it and completed the comeback with a 78-73 outcome, defeating the Falcons for the third and final time this season.

First Half – SF 38, DSC 38

After two comfortable wins in the previous matchups, SF was a little surprised to find themselves facing a 17-point deficit, 23-6, with 11:11 on the clock.

Over the course of the rest of the half though, the Saints came alive and began to enforce their will to make their way back into it.

The Saints' deficit was still as large as 13, 37-24 with 4:23 on the clock. 11 straight points went to SF, and the run was sparked by five points from Nikolaos Noumeros.

SF tied it for the first time since the opening tip at 38-38 in the half's final seconds, when Eddie Foster III produced an offensive rebound and stick back for an old-fashioned three-point play.

Second Half – SF 78, DSC 73

The Saints started slowly in the second half, much like the first, as Daytona State scored the first seven points out of the break.

The game was tied for a second time, 51-51 with 14 minutes to play, but the Saints weren't quite able to get over the hump to take their first lead.

After another 7-0 spurt from the Falcons, Giovanni Baerga-Uselis ignited the offense with two triples.

The Saints finally took their first lead of the game, 65-63 with 8:14 to play, as Bradley Douglas started to heat up.

The reigning FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week continued to spearhead the Saints' success in this one and had eight points with two triples during a string of 10 unanswered SF points that turned a 63-60 deficit into a 70-63 lead with 6:43 to play.

The lead proved to not entirely be safe, as the Falcons whittled it down to 72-70 with 2:23 on the clock.

Leading 73-70, Erin Farrington made a key play at the 1:13 mark to help preserve the victory, converting a steal into a layup on the other end to make it a two-possession game.

The Saints went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line with Daytona State forced to foul, and SF held on for the season sweep of the three matchups with Daytona State.

Key Statistics

SF hit 12 triples to help fend off the Falcons.

The rebounding battle went to the Saints, 46-33.

Douglas continued his scoring spree and was the game's high-scorer, finishing with 22 points, including four buckets from deep. He added a team-high eight rebounds as well.

Baerga-Uselis made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup, contributing 13 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Both Brandon Farmer and Noumeros also reached double-digit scoring, finishing with 11 and 10, respectively.

Up Next

The Saints (20-5, 8-3 Central) return to their home floor on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 4:00 p.m. against Florida State College at Jacksonville.