The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team rallied for an 85-71 victory in an East Coast Conference battle at Roberts Wesleyan College. The Spartans have now won four of five overall to improve to 20-4 overall and 10-2 in the ECC, with Roberts Wesleyan dropping to 4-20, 1-12. The victory also marked the sixth straight season in which the Spartans have reached the 20-win plateau. STAC has clinched a playoff berth and can finish no worse than third in the conference standings.

Looking for a weekend split after Friday's setback at Daemen, STAC jumped on top early as a Jamar Sudan layup opened a 14-8 edge. Shane Fanning heated up with three three-pointers in a 19-6 run to put the Redhawks on top, 27-20, but a pair of Demetre Roberts free throws in the final minute closed the margin to 38-33 at intermission.

Grant Singleton and Demetre Roberts led the way as STAC bolted from the locker room to an 11-2 run to jump on top at 44-40, and a series of lead changes followed with the Redhawks taking a 55-54 lead as Reggie Clark sank two free throws with 7:38 left. Jamar Sudan took charge with six points in an 8-0 run to open a 62-55 gap with 5:40 left. A Lewis layup gave the hosts life at 75-69 with 1:34 on the clock, but STAC slammed the door by going 10-of-10 from the line in the final 1:05, with six coming from Roberts.

Roberts led the way for St. Thomas Aquinas with 20 points, Sudan came off the bench to add 17, and Singleton added 16. Clark set the tone for RWC, recording a game-high 22 points with Fanning chipping in 19.

The Spartans conclude their four-game road swing with another ECC battle at Queens College on Wednesday, February 19, before returning to Aquinas Hall to host New York Tech on Saturday, February 22; tip is set for approximately 3:00 pm as part of double-header action with the women's teams squaring off at 1:00 pm.