LAKE CITY, Fla. – Santa Fe men's basketball survived a second-half comeback from Florida Gateway College and outlasted the Timberwolves in a double-overtime contest, 99-90.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Saints ended the opening half with a 10-2 run, gaining some separation from the Timberwolves to go into the break leading 43-34.

Jalen Speer and Nikolaos Noumeros led the way offensively in the opening 20 minutes of play. Speer had 18 points with four triples, while Noumeros had 12.

SF led by 14 points, 72-58, as the clock went under about seven minutes remaining, then still 11 points around the four minute mark.

The Timberwolves, however, began a stunning surge inside the Howard Center, to the delight of the home crowd.

After an FGC lay-in made it a one-point game, 77-76, with nine seconds remaining, the Saints had a successful inbound to Jonathan Renois.

Renois split the pair of free-throws, and the Saints called a timeout. The Timberwolves were able to go coast-to-coast and get an uncontested layup to tie it up though, and Speer's half-court heave at the buzzer clanked off the backboard as the sides headed to the first overtime.

The first extra period went back-and-forth, and once again, the Saints looked to be in position to close it out when Noumeros had a nifty, euro step finish in the paint to bring the score to 88-87 with 13.3 seconds on the clock.

The Saints got a defensive stop and Noumeros controlled the defensive rebound before being fouled. He split the pair, and FGC needed a basket in the final seconds to stay alive.

On the ensuing possession, SF was called for a reach-in foul right before the Timberwolves' three-point try, and FGC sunk both free-throws to send it to double overtime.

SF set the tone early in the second overtime with a corner three from Kordell Brown, and the Saints' defense did the rest to limit FGC to a single free-throw in the game's final five minutes. SF closed out the victory by outscoring the hosts 10-1 when it mattered most, earning win No. 5 in the 2022-2023 season.

UPDATED RECORDS

Santa Fe – 5-3

Florida Gateway – 2-3

STATISTICS

Complete statistics will be made available as soon as possible.

Speer had a season-high 34 points, including five triples. A career-high 22 points came from Noumeros, who seemed to make several key plays to help seal the deal. Nasir Mann finished with 17, while Brown had 12.

The 12 points from Renois were also a season-high mark for the freshman.

UP NEXT

The Saints will next play on their home floor on Monday, Dec. 5 against DME Academy. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.