The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team won its sixth straight, a 75-66 East Coast Conference triumph at Queens College. The Spartans now stand at 22-3 overall and 14-3 in ECC play, with Queens slipping to 7-20, 7-10. With Molloy's victory over UDC, the teams remain tied for second place with Saturday's game at Aquinas Hall to determine which squad finished second and receives the first round ECC Tournament bye.
Earlier in the day, STAC moved up one slot in the official NCAA East Regional rankings, now standing at #6 on the strength of last week's victory over #2 ranked Daemen. St. Anselm remains in the top spot with New Haven at #3, LeMoyne #4, and Merrimack #5. Eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament, with champions from the ECC, Northeast-10, and CACC receiving automatic bids and the other five being issued on an at-large basis.
Playing their third game in six days, the Spartans showed no ill effects early, as Sekou Cisse recorded four points and Demetre Roberts added a three-pointer as part of an 11-2 run to start the evening. Zach Rzewnicki connected from deep to open the margin to 16-5, but Tyrese Crosdale scored five straight to start a 9-0 run, bringing the Knights to within two. Louis Griffth hit a trey as the visitors responded with an 11-2 burst, opening a 27-16 gap.
STAC's offense endured a three-minute dry spell without registering a point, but they held the Knights scoreless for the final 3:43 of the half as a 10-0 run made the tally 41-23 at halftime. The Spartans ran cold again with just one field goal over a stretch of nearly six minutes, but Queens was only able to narrow the gap to 50-37 near the midway point of the second half.
Unable to deal the knockout blow, STAC retained its double-digit cushion until Crosdale's layup drew the Knights to 60-51 with 6:05 remaining. After an exchange of baskets, Crosdale struck from deep again, closing the score to 62-56 with 4:15 left. The Knights continued to inch closer as Crosdale converted again to make the score 66-62 with 2:31 to go. The margin remained at four into the final minute before four free throws by Osbel Caraballo and three from Demetre Roberts cemented the win.
Cisse led the way for STAC with 20 points, with Caraballo chipping in 17 and Roberts adding 12. Crosdale came off the bench to keep the Knights in the game, tying for a game-high with 20 points. Queens will travel to UDC for its final regular-season game on Saturday, with the winner of that contest securing the final ECC Tournament berth. STAC, Daemen, Molloy, Bridgeport and Roberts Wesleyan have clinched berths in the six-team field, though no seeds are determined as yet.
The stage is set for Saturday's Senior Day regular-season finale as the Spartans host Molloy, with game time at approximately 3:00, after the women's teams square off at 1:00. The loser of that game will host a first round ECC Tournament contest on Wednesday, March 6, while the winner earns a bye into the semi-finals at the University of Bridgeport on Saturday, March 9, with finals to be held at that location the following day.