MELBOURNE, Fla. – Santa Fe men's basketball was a buzzsaw in the second half at receiving votes Eastern Florida, moving into first place in the Central Conference standings with a 75-61 result over the Titans.

Although each team currently sits at 10-3 in the Central Conference, the Saints hold the tiebreaker after winning two of the three season matchups.

First Half – EFSC 42, SF 39

Santa Fe never led in the opening half but did well to trail by just three after the Titans shot 9-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Eastern Florida jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the early moments and were able to establish a lead as large as nine, 26-17, at the half's midway point when guard Brandon Garcia got hot from three.

Trailing 29-21 moments later, Bradley Douglas went on a 5-0 run of his own to get SF within a single possession, 29-26 with 5:21 on the clock.

Garcia hit his fifth three of the half to widen the gap back up to nine, 37-28, with a couple of minutes remaining.

SF stayed the course, however, and ended the half well to bounce right back to within three at the final horn.

Nicolas McClain had seven points for the Saints in the final minutes, including a contested triple in the waning seconds.

Second Half – SF 75, EFSC 61

SF started the second half on a 10-2 run, seizing their first lead of the game in the process.

The Saints' D started swarming all over the court and found success in stifling the Titans on the perimeter.

Offensively, Hasan Abdul-Hakim was an unstoppable catalyst, finding a rhythm and zone with his shooting stroke to pour in 11 of the Saints' first 13 points in the half.

Leading 52-47 with 15:12 to play, Santa Fe went on a 9-0 run to open up a 61-47 lead, capped off by an Abdul-Hakim bucket in the paint.

No. 11's dominant display continued, and the Eastern Florida offense continued to be out of sorts against the Saints' disruptive defense. After a steal from Douglas, he passed it up the court to Abdul-Hakim for an emphatic throwdown to bring the score to 66-51with 8:54 on the clock, taking the air out of the gym.

The Saints' lead would reach its largest at 74-56 as the clock approached two minutes, and SF was able to take the air out of the ball and secure the victory, their 22nd of the season.

Key Statistics

Santa Fe outscored Eastern Florida 36-19 in the second half and held the Titans to just 1-of-13 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.

The Saints' aggressiveness payed off as they made their way to the free-throw line often, converting 19-of-26.

Abdul-Hakim netted an amazing 23 of his career-high 27 points in the second half, finishing the game 9-of-15 from the field, 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-7 from the charity stripe.

McClain played well on his way to a double-double, recording 16 points and 11 rebounds. Douglas had 14 points and eight assists, while Brandon Farmer put in 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Up Next

The Saints (22-5, 10-3 Central) will play the final home game of the 2021-2022 season on Saturday, Feb. 19 against St. Petersburg at 4:00 p.m., then conclude the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Polk State College. Two more wins would secure SF the Central Conference title.