The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team captured a decisive 99-67 East Coast Conference triumph in an East Coast Conference game at Mercy College. The Spartans, ranked #16 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches national poll and #10 in the D2SIDA poll, are now 7-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play, extending their overall winning streak to 10 straight. With the loss, Mercy is now 1-4 both overall and in ECC action.

In a sluggish start for both squads, Mercy grabbed a 2-1 lead after two minutes of play on a Kerwin Prince bucket. That didn't last as Louis Griffith hit three three-pointers as part of a 14-2 run that opened a 20-6 STAC lead. Antonio Vendola's trey with just over 5:00 left make the chasm 41-16, and Elijah Bovell's last-second hoop provided a comfortable 55-24 lead at intermission, with the Spartans' lead maxing out at 36 during the second half.

Luis Risquez came off the bench to pace five STAC players in double-figures with 18 points, while Osbel Caraballo (17), Vendola (12), Griffith (11), and Jamal Barnes (11) splitting the load. Prince was the hot hand for the Mavericks with game highs of 24 points and nine rebounds.

The Spartans now play their final five scheduled regular-season games at home, starting with a weekend set against Molloy on Saturday and Sunday, February 20 and 21, with both games starting at 2:00 pm at Aquinas Hall. They will then host Saint Rose on Wednesday, January 24 (tentative) before closing with a weekend showdown against Daemen on February 27 and 28.