GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The State College of Florida evened the season-series with Santa Fe College men's basketball, coming out on top over the Saints by a 92-85 result.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening half was up-tempo and high-scoring, similar to the Saints' last outing at Hillsborough.

SF trailed for most of the game's opening minutes, and went down by as many as seven points, 35-28, at the 7:40 mark.

A 14-3 spurt from the Saints, however, put them in front 42-38. Five different Saints contributed offensively to the run.

The opening half, which saw five lead changes and five ties, concluded with a Nikolaos Noumeros triple to put SF in front 49-48.

Spectators inside the SF Gymnasium were treated to a back-and-forth affair, as neither side could gain much separation from the other in the second half.

Nasir Mann was fouled while attempting a corner three, and it hit the bottom of the net to tie the game for the tenth time at 76-76 with 5:39 to play.

Mann hit the free-throw for a four-point play to put the Saints in front, but it would prove to be the last lead the hosts would hold.

The Manatees' Skylar Wicks consistently produced points down the stretch when SCF needed them. Wicks had 22 of SCF's final 27 points, accounted for the final ten, and put in 25 second half points, taking over the game offensively to will his team to victory.

UPDATED RECORDS

State College of Florida – 3-4

Santa Fe – 3-2

STATISTICS

Wicks had a game-high 34 points for the SCF cause.

The Manatees were 19-of-25 from the free-throw line, as compared to the Saints' 9-of-14 effort.

Both sides shot it fairly well from three-point land, with the Manatees converting 11 and SF ten.

The Saints won the rebounding battle by a 50-40 margin, but were hurt by a season-high 17 turnovers

SF had balance offensively and were led by an efficient 18 points from Kordell Brown, who added nine rebounds. Prior to fouling out, Jalen Speer notched a double-double with 15 points and ten assists while also controlling eight rebounds.

Mann finished with 14 points, Nigel Martin off the bench put in 13, and Noumeros chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

UP NEXT

Santa Fe (3-2) will travel to play No. 18 Tallahassee on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 6:00 p.m., seeking to snap a two-game skid.