The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team suffered its third straight defeat in Puerto Rico, once again battling before falling short against host UPR-Bayamon, 68-64. TJ Jones led the Spartans attack with 23 points.

After a day off Monday, the Spartans were red-hot early on, jumping to a 25-13 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. Bayamon would have different ideas, however, bolting to a 20-5 run over a span of 5:35 to end the half with a 33-30 edge.

That run would extend into first six minutes of the second half as the Vaqueros recorded 17 of the first 21 points in the second half - making the total run 37-9 - and extending their margin to 16 at 50-34.

STAC wasn't ready to board the plane home just yet, as they trailed 54-40 with under nine minutes to go before a frantic finish drew them within two in the game's final minute, but the hosts were able to hold on for the win. Omar Kellman added 15 points and Justin Brown posted 14 for the Spartans, with Hector Garcia pouring in a game-high 24 for the Vaqueros.

The Spartans will now have a lengthy layoff before returning to action when they travel to meet Washington Adventist on November 29, before playing both their home and East Coast Conference opener just two days later, with a 3:00 start against Dowling College on December 1 at Aquinas Hall.