February 22, 2025
Parker's Big Day Leads Bucs Over Saints
K'jei Parker tied a Florida SouthWestern single game program record with eight three pointers made and poured in a career high 28 points to lead the Buccaneers over the Santa Fe Saints 76-66 Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- K'jei Parker tied a Florida SouthWestern single game program record with eight three pointers made and poured in a career high 28 points to lead the Buccaneers over the Santa Fe Saints 76-66 Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
With Santa Fe fighting for their playoff lives, the Saints came out firing and jumped on the Bucs 16-6 to begin the game. FSW slowly fought back, getting back to within one before the under 12 media timeout before taking a 19-18 lead on a pair of free throws after the break. The pace picked up over the final 10 minutes of the first half with the Bucs and Saints going back and forth until FSW got a late bucket to take a 44-41 lead into the break at half.
The Bucs dug their heels in on the defensive end in the second half and played to a tempo much more to their liking as they slowly build their lead to double digits midway through the period. Santa Fe got to within six, but the Bucs wouldn't let them get any closer as they finished off the Saints 76-66 for their third consecutive win.
K'jei Parker was the story for the Bucs, tying an FSW single game record with eight three pointers made while scoring a career high 28 points to lead the way for the Purple and Aqua. Jafeth Martinez continued his strong late season play, posting his fourth double-double in the Bucs past five games with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bucs win their third straight to improve to 16-9 overall and 9-4 in Citrus Conference play where they are now locked in to a postseason position with three games left in the regular season. Santa Fe is on the opposite side of the spectrum as they drop to 10-17 overall and are now fighting for their postseason lives with a 5-8 in league action which puts them a half game up for the final spot with one week left in the conference slate.
FSW will take the floor again on Wednesday in a crucial matchup with Miami Dade who sits one game behind the Bucs in the league standings. The Bucs and Sharks will take the floor at 7 PM in Suncoast Credit Union Arena following the FSW vs. Miami Dade Women's game which is slated for a 5 PM start.