JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe College men's basketball began its defense of the Central Conference title on Saturday afternoon, leading most of the way in a 91-79 road win at Florida State College at Jacksonville.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The game featured three ties and three lead changes.

The Saints opened up a 19-11 lead after a Jalen Speer triple at the 12:39 mark, but FSCJ was able to respond to tie the game at 24-24 a few minutes later.

SF led 32-28 with 4:07 on the clock in the opening frame, and the Saints started a string of seven unanswered points to lead 39-28. Jonathan Renois had five points during the run.

The Blue Wave were able to cut their deficit all the way down to four in the final minute of the half, but a Nasir Mann tripe from the left corner was the half's final basket, and SF led 42-35. Kordell Brown had 10 points and eight rebounds at the half, while Nikolaos Noumeros had nine points and seven rebounds.

At the start of the second half, FSCJ was able to chip away, and eventually regained a 51-50 lead at the 14:55 mark.

The Saints would never trail again, however, putting in the game's next six points and turning the tide for good.

Leading 61-58, a 13-3 spurt proved to be what SF would need to put the game out of reach. Brown was the catalyst, scoring 11 of the 13 points during the key run of play, which included a three-pointer.

The play of Speer and the rest of the backcourt took care of the rest, and FSCJ trailed by double-digits for nearly the entirety of the game's final nine minutes.

UPDATED RECORDS

Santa Fe – 9-6, 1-0 Central

FSCJ – 4-10, 0-1 Central

STATISTICS

The rebounding battle went to SF, 48-31.

The Saints shot 50.7 percent from the floor (36-of-71) and made eight three-pointers. FSCJ was held to just a 38.8 percent shooting night.

Brown had his second career double-double, matching a career-high with 24 points to go along with a season-high 12 rebounds.

Speer tied for the game-high point total with 25, compiling a double-double of his own with 10 assists. Mann was the third Saint with a double-double, adding 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Nigel Martin (10 points) and Noumeros (nine points, seven rebounds) were key contributors as well.

UP NEXT

The Saints (9-6, 1-0 Central) now set their sights on a home matchup with Eastern Florida on Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m.