The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team erased a 19-point second half deficit and used a last-second putback by Osbel Caraballo to take a 79-77 East Coast Conference victory at the University of the District of Columbia. The #10/9 ranked Spartans have now won 7-of-8 to stand at 17-3 overall, and reach the midway point of the ECC schedule in second place with a 7-1 mark. UDC dropped its third straight to fall to 8-12, 3-5.
Sekou Cisse and Caraballo converted consecutive three-pointers as STAC opened a 15-9 lead, but Kerry Kirkwood hit from deep to touch off a 12-2 run, giving the Firebirds a 21-17 advantage midway through the first half. Cheyenne Nettleton scored five straight in a 9-0 UDC run to open a 34-24 gap, but Demetre Roberts' layup capped off a 13-3 answer for the Spartans to tie the game at 37-37. The hosts reclaimed the lead as Juanye Colon's trey gave the hosts a 40-37 edge at halftime.
STAC's offense struggled out of the break while UDC had no such trouble, riding a 23-7 explosion to a 63-44 cushion with 12:26 remaining. After an exchange of baskets, the Spartan defense clamped down, holding their foes scoreless for over four minutes as they set to work on chipping at the deficit. Grant Singleton and Roberts hit consecutive threes in an 8-0 run over that stretch, drawing to 65-54 with just under eight minutes on the clock.
That UDC lead stood at 69-56 inside the seven minute mark, which was cut to 71-65 with 4:18 left. Singleton hit a jumper and Roberts netted two from the line to create a two-point game at 71-69. Jahmir Marable Williams hit two from the line for the Firebirds but Singleton answered quickly, with Williams following with one-of-two from the stripe to make the tally 74-71 with just under three to play.
Singleton remained hot with a steal and a layup, and Nettleton split a pair of foul shots for a 75-73 score with 2:08 left. Caraballo tied the score from in close and Roberts drained a pair from the line to put the Spartans on top by a 77-75 count approaching the final minute of regulation but Williams tied the score at the 29 seconds mark. Holding for the final shot, Sekou Cisse's driving layup attempt in the waning seconds was short of the mark, but Caraballo was on the spot as his tap-in with 1.1 left proved to be the difference-maker.
Caraballo led four Spartans in double-figures with a game-high 22 points, Singleton posted 16, Roberts had 14, and Avante Gilbert came off the bench for 13 for St. Thomas Aquinas. Nettleton led the Firebirds with 17, capping four UDC players in double-figures.
The Spartans will now have a week off before starting the second half of their ECC slate as Mercy College visits Aquinas Hall on Saturday, February 1. Game time is approximately 3:00 pm, as the back end of a twin-bill featuring the women's team's meeting at 1:00 pm.