Box Score GAINESVILLE – Neither team could pull away from the other on Wednesday night, but in the end, a late run was the difference as Santa Fe College topped Polk State Basketball, 82-77.

The Eagles (6-12, 1-3 Central Conference) trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, but rallied to take the lead on a 3-pointer by George Pridgett with more than eight minutes to play. Over the final nine minutes, the contest featured four ties and five lead changes.

After another trey from Pridgett evened the game at 71 with 2:09 remaining, Kordell Brown's 3-pointer from the top of the arc sparked a 7-0 run and put Santa Fe ahead for good. Polk State, however, would not go quietly.

Behind an acrobatic 3-pointer from Pridgett and another triple from AJ Hamrick, the Eagles clawed back to within two with 19 seconds left. Santa Fe closed the game with two timely stops and by going 3-for-4 from the free throw line.

"We just didn't make enough plays when it really counted," Polk State Head Coach Brandon Giles said. "At the end of the day, you have to make plays to win basketball games, especially in conference play. We didn't make the type of plays consistently on either end of the floor to win this game."

Pridgett finished with a game-high 26 points on a stellar 6-for-10 shooting from deep to go with a game-high four steals. Rod Jones added 16 points in the loss. Hamrick and Dominick Nelson each added nine points. Nelson led the Eagles with eight rebounds.

Things started well for Polk State. The Eagles raced to a 29-18 lead in the first half, but the Saints closed the opening 20 minutes on a 25-8 run to take a 43-37 lead into the locker room. Santa Fe opened its lead to 55-46 in the second half before a 16-4 run put Polk State back in front.

The teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field and from deep. At the foul line, however, Santa Fe was 25-for-31 while the Eagles shot a dismal 8-for-18.

Brown paced the Saints with 20 points in the victory. Nigel Martin added 18 points and went 11 of 13 from the charity stripe as five Santa Fe players scored in double figures.  

After a mini two-game road stretch, Polk State will look for its first home victory in Central Conference play. The Eagles host St. Petersburg College at 2 p.m. on Saturday.