The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season with a convincing 72-50 victory at University of the Sciences. Sekou Cisse poured in a game-high 21 points and Demetre Roberts added 15 as stifling defense staked the Spartans to an early lead that they would not relinquish.

After each team came up empty on its first two turns, a Kevin Lynch putback put STAC on top after 91 seconds of play. A Demetre Roberts jumper closed out a game-opening 11-0 run, as USciences was held off the board until Jordan White's hoop with 12:26 to go in the half. Marcus Stevens and Roberts each hit from deep as a 10-0 burst opened an incredible 21-2 lead with nine minutes to go before intermission.

While the Devils' offense kicked in during the latter minutes, Jamar Sudan's lay-up in the final minute extended the cushion to a comfortable 35-19 through 20 minutes. Paddy Casey's three brought USciences to within 35-24 in the opening minute of the second half but that was as close as they were to get, as Louis Griffith and Grand Singleton hit back-to-back from downtown as STAC exploded for a 15-0 outburst to put the contest well out of reach.

Cisse went 8-of-9 from the field and played just 19 minutes in registering his game-high scoring total, while tying with teammate Jamar Sudan for game-high in rebounds with eight. Sean Simon was the only scorer in double-figures for the Devils, posting 11 points off the bench.

The Spartans return to action on Sunday, November 10, squaring off for a high noon match-up with Stonehill College at USciences. They continue their four-game season-opening road swing at Goldey-Beacom on November 13 and move on to Holy Family on November 16 before hitting the Aquinas Hall hardwood for their home opener against Adelphi University on Wednesday, November 20 at 7:00 pm.