Winter Haven, FL- On Wednesday, the Saints traveled south to face Polk State College.  Polk State came into this matchup with an 12-14 record.  The Saints were at 10-15 at the start of this contest.  Both teams were hungry and desperate for another conference win.  The Saints went up big in the first half.  The Eagles played tough in the second half just falling short of an amazing comeback.  Saints win 80-75.

How It Happened

Santa Fe raced out to a 40-15 lead and finished the half up 42-23. SF defended Polk's guards well, holding them scoreless from the three-point line, while the Saints were able to knock down seven three-point shots.  Kevinn Pazmino hit five three pointers to lead SF with 15 first half points.

Macius Trowe had 12 second half points, including a three-point play late, while Predrag Panisic had 9 points including a huge three pointer down the stretch.  The Saints also were able to hit free-throws (92 percent in the second half) down the stretch to stay in front of the Eagles.  The Eagles fall short.  The Saints hold on to win.  They have now won two straight conference games.  

Quote From Coach Mowry

"We came out ready to play and had a great first half. Kevin got hot and everyone else contributed on offense. Defensively, we were very sound until the shot went up, but Polk hurt us with too many offensive rebounds. The second half was even until they started pressing and trapping us when we were up 68-48. We struggled with too many turnovers, gave up too many offensive rebounds and fouled too much the last ten minutes. We did a super job at the free throw line hitting 12 of 14 for the game, including 11 of 12 in the second half. It's been a long time since we've had the chance to play with a big lead and we have to be better in those situations. I'm very happy for our team for sticking together and getting a big win on the road! We travel to top 20 FSW Saturday for our next game.

Up Next

The Saints will travel to Fort Myers to face Florida Southwestern State College on February 24^th.  Tip-off is set for 12PM EST.