Santa Fe College Men’s Basketball Dominates North Florida Prep

By Brooke Bastedo and Elizabeth Landen

The Santa Fe College Saints earned their first men’s basketball win of the season Wednesday against the North Florida Prep Myrmidons, 80-56.

The Saints (1-2) maintained the lead in both halves before winning by 24 points and had new coach John Ritzdorf’s his first win.

The Saints sophomore from Serbia Predrag Panisic won the tip and the Saints took off from there.

Early in the first half, sophomore guard Ryan Webster (Buchholz High School) suffered a head injury after falling to the court. Ritzdorf said he could not give an official update on Webster’s status, but they did choose to keep him out of the game as a precaution.

Mike Drayton and Connor Morris led SFC in scoring with 18 points apiece. Morris had four 3-point shots in the first half that allowed the Saints to go into halftime up by 22 points (48-26).

Despite Drayton’s success on offense, his true achievement of the night was his ability to create turnovers.

“He has that mentality that he takes defense very seriously,” Ritzdorf said. “He is a really good all-around player and I think he is only going to get better for us.”

Interview with ⁦@SFsaintsMBB⁩ Coach John Ritzdorf after the Saints (1-2) 80-56 win against North Florida Prep. pic.twitter.com/cz3frYoCkf

— Brooke Bastedo (@BrookeBastedo) November 7, 2024

The Saints’ dominating performance was also enhanced by the offensive abilities of returning sophomore Karmello Branch, who scored 16 points.

The improvement on offense and defense bodes well for the Saints’ season, Ritzdorf said.

“We did a better job of making the extra pass,” Ritzdorf said. “We focused on taking care of the ball.”

Following the game, the players doused Ritzdorf in water to celebrate his first win as a Saint.

Up Next

The Saints (1-3) fell to the visiting Tallahassee State College Eagles (3-0) on Saturday, 90-66.

Santa Fe College stays at home for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday against Florida Gateway.