GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was an incredible finish to the regular season for Santa Fe College men's basketball, as Jalen Speer hit his second game-winner in the final three home games to send the Saints to an 82-81 win over Polk State College.

Speer's heroics gave SF the upper hand in the season-series with the Eagles, 2-1, and exacted some revenge for a George Pridgett three-quarter court heave that beat the Saints in Winter Haven, Fla. on Feb. 4

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Saints used a 6-0 spurt to take a 13-8 lead after about five minutes of play, and went on to lead for the vast majority of the final 15 minutes of the half as well…

Kordell Brown and Nikolaos Noumeros were doing most of the heavy-lifting for the Saints on the interior, and each had a team-high 14 points at the intermission to help SF go into the break with a 45-36 lead. The Saints shot 50 percent from the field and held Polk to just 38.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes, building a lead that grew as large as 12 at one point after a Brown triple.

The Saints were able to keep the Eagles at a distance in the start of the second half, until Polk went on a 6-0 run of their own to draw to within a single point, 66-65 with just under ten minutes left to play.

The Eagles didn't regain the lead until 4:50 left on the clock after back-to-back buckets, but the Saints responded and opened their advantage back up to two possessions when Noumeros took over.

With the game tied at 75-75, he finished a bucket inside plus the foul for an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:23 on the clock, then scored from the paint once again with 1:13 remaining to put SF in front 80-75.

Pridgett and the Eagles had another comeback push in them, however, and back-to-back triples gave the guests the 81-80 advantage.

Speer missed a go-ahead three-point attempt on the ensuing possession and the Eagles controlled the rebound, forcing the Saints to play the foul game.

SF had only committed a couple of fouls in the half, so bringing Polk into the 1-and-1 bonus brought the clock all the way down to eight seconds…

The Eagles missed the front end of the one-and-one, setting the stage for Speer's heroics.

Nigel Martin rose to grab the much-needed defensive rebound and found Speer, who brought the ball up the court with confidence seeking to find a crack in the defense.

After nearly losing control with tight defense at the perimeter, Speer spun away from the defense, sidestepped a defender, and just beat the buzzer with an off-balance floater off the glass to win it, 82-81. Nevada Cullen and Magnel Loper were on the call on the Saints Sports Network…

KEY STATISTICS

The Saints turned the ball over just eight times in the win, matching a season-low…

SF assisted on 21 of its 27 made field goals, led by Speer's game-high eight assists.

The Saints went 18-of-24 from the free-throw line, rewarded for the offensive advantage they had on the inside…

Pridgett was sensational in defeat for the Eagles, pouring in a game-high 29 points. Ashton Howard had a double-double with 10 points and ten rebounds.

For SF, Brown finished with a team-high 24 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting. His scoring total matched a career-high. Noumeros had 20 points, six assists, and four rebounds in a well-rounded performance from the sophomore forward.

Cole Deptula's knockdown shooting helped him put in a career-high of his own with 22 points, which included 5-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc.

Speer added nine points to go along with his eight assists, and although he was quiet throughout most of the night offensively, he made the shot that mattered most to send the Saints to a much-needed victory in the regular season-finale.

UP NEXT

The Saints (17-12, 9-6 Central) have already secured third place in the Central Conference and will be in consideration for an at-large bid to the Region 8 Tournament. Santa Fe's resume will primarily be stacked against Miami Dade College (17-13, 6-6) for the eighth seed, who finished third in the Southern Conference…

The full bracket will be announced on March 2, and the tournament will take place on March 9 – March 11 in Niceville, Fla. at Northwest Florida State College.