Last week, the Santa Fe Men’s basketball team was able to travel to Lake Worth and defeat Palm Beach State College 89-69. Last night, the script had a different ending and Palm Beach got their revenge on the road with a 77-73 win over Santa Fe in overtime.
Neither team was able to gain an edge in the first half as they entered halftime all tied up at 30. Santa Fe guard Morris Marshall led all scores with eight points. The defensive intensity was relatively high for two teams that are accustomed to simply out scoring their opponent. Both teams had to earn each and every point.
In the second half, the Saints seemed to have the game in hand. Yet, several missed free throws in the closing minutes kept Palm Beach in the game. Panther guard Fabian MacDonald took full advantage of the opportunity by draining a three pointer to tie the game with five seconds left. The ensuing Saints’ possession was unsuccessful, taking the game to overtime.
Once in overtime, the Panthers were able to make key shots that gave them the lead. Saints guard Michael Sanchez struggled on the free throw line down the stretch, keeping the game in the Panthers’ favor.
Morris Marshall finished with 24 points and five rebounds and Saints guard Allen Baez came off the bench with 16 points and two assists.
**************************************
After the game, Santa Fe coach Chris Mowry said his team played with great intensity but made mistakes too.
“I thought both teams played really hard tonight. Maybe it wasn’t the crispest of games. We had some looks there late where we did not handle some passes.”
Down the stretch, Mowry favored backup guard Allen Baez over starting guard Michael Sanchez.
“I thought Allen was doing a good job defensively, he’s a little bit bigger guard defensively. And he is a very good free throw shooter, just looking at stats he was five of six tonight.”
With this being the second loss on the season, Mowry says his team has room to improve.
“I think we just need to watch the film. They hit a shot there with five and a half seconds left or so in regulation. We wanted to play it out and not foul. So we need to see why that guy was able to get the shot off.”
To hear full audio clips from above, click below:
Mowry’s quick recap of the game
Mowry on why he chose Baez over Sanchez
Mowry continues discussing his decision on Baez
Mowry on what the team needs to do moving forward