The stars weren't aligned for Florida Community College at Jacksonville against Santa Fe College on Wednesday night.
The Saints came out on top 71-63 over the Stars in the teams' Mid-Florida Conference openers.
In their last 26 MFC games, the Saints (15-4, 1-0 MFC) have a 25-1 record and are coming off two straight seasons of winning the MFC Championship. The Stars were well aware of these facts going into the game.
"It's our first conference game," said Stars coach Neil Orr. "Probably against the best team in the entire conference."
The Stars shined throughout the game, including during their 10-0 run in the second half to chip away at the Saints' lead and come within 6 points. SFC sophomore guard Aaron Holmes ended that run when he scored back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the Saints marching on.
But when it was all said and done, the Stars were unable to provide the defense necessary to win.
"I don't think we matched their intensity on the defensive end," Orr said. "We'll come back with more intensity for the next game, I guarantee you that."
FCCJ substituted players multiple times throughout the game. Eleven of the Stars' 14 players listed on the roster saw time Wednesday.
Orr and the other FCCJ coaches continued to push their team on the court. Yells of "pressure" and plays called from the sidelines were constants throughout the game.
Stars freshman guard Jimmy Gaskins Jr. was perfect from the free-throw line, making four shots and contributing 12 of his team's 63 points.
Holmes, who will play at Tulane next season, provided the Saints with 21 points. He shot 60 percent from the free-throw line and added 9 points from long distance. For the season, Holmes averages 21.6 points per game and typically goes 77 percent from the free-throw line.
"Aaron did a nice job knocking down his threes," said SFC coach Chris Mowry. "He's a very talented player."
Holmes and fellow Saints Roderick Emanuel, Julien Bendeke and Jon Nolton all scored in double digits. SFC managed to balance its scoring drives and pass the ball around to different players.
Bendeke, a non-starter, was 3 of 4 from the 3-point line and finished with 10 points. Marvin Davis also came off the bench to provide 7 points.
"Our guys on the bench are very good players and are capable of scoring," Mowry said. "We have a deep bench. Game in and game out, they continue to step up."
SFC managed 19 offensive rebounds and 26 defensive rebounds throughout the game, which Orr noticed.
"We didn't do a good job with second shots," Orr said. "Second shots killed us, and that's my fault."
SFC will travel to Sanford to continue MFC play against Seminole Community College at 4 p.m. Saturday.
"We have to come out and play hard for 40 minutes," Mowry said. "We need to continue to bring intensity."
