GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe College men's basketball never trailed on its home floor against Florida Gateway and concluded the 2022 portion of the schedule with a 79-69 win over the Timberwolves.

With the victory, the Saints sweep the season series with FGC, after also earning a 99-90 double overtime win in Lake City, Fla. on Nov. 30.

HOW IT HAPPENED

This one was far more straightforward than the previous matchup, as Santa Fe set the tone early. The Saints led 15-2 at the 12:09 mark of the opening half, as the defense started off locked in as it had been in Wednesday night's win over Hillsborough.

On the offensive end, SF was doing most of their damage from inside the paint to open up the sizeable gap.

The Saints' largest lead of the game was 18, 27-9, after a bucket from Jalen Speer with about eight minutes to play in the half.

The lead remained in double-digits through the halftime whistle, as SF led 39-25 at the break. The Timberwolves were limited to just 24.3 percent shooting in the opening half, while Santa Fe was led offensively by ten points from Nasir Mann and nine from Speer.

Florida Gateway made things interesting to start the second half, trimming the deficit all the way down to three points, 52-49, midway through the final frame.

Six straight points from the Saints provided the answer the hosts needed, however, and all six of the points came from Speer.

SF was in control the rest of the way and went on for the 79-69 result in front of the home crowd.

UPDATED RECORDS

Florida Gateway – 4-8

Santa Fe – 8-5

STATISTICS

Shooting efficiency for SF went a long way in this one for the Saints, as they finished 29-of-60 from the floor (48.3 percent) compared to 25-of-67 (37.3 percent) for the Timberwolves.

SF also made their way to the free-throw line for 21 attempts, hitting 16.

The rebounding battle also favored SF, 41-36.

Mann matched his career-high with 24 points, adding seven rebounds while continuing to play explosively from his wing position.

Speer finished with 19 points and four assists from the point guard position. Nigel Martin put in 13 points for the second-straight game, while Kordell Brown also added ten points of his own.

Nikolaos Noumeros was often the first to get his hands on rebounds, corralling a game-high 13.

UP NEXT

The Saints are off until the New Year, and will celebrate two straight wins to go along with the holidays before hosting Indian River State College on Jan. 2 at 4:00 p.m.