The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team battled to a 90-84 victory over American International College in a non-conference tilt at Aquinas Hall. The victory keeps STAC perfect on the season at 10-0 and expands their win streak to 13 overall, while AIC dropped to 0-4. In this week's national rankings, the Spartans are now slotted #11 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and #5 by Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA).

Both teams set a high tempo early, and though Osbel Caraballo was dominant early with seven points to stake the hosts to a 12-5 advantage, the score would stay tight the rest of the way in the grueling contest that saw 18 lead changes and nine ties. AIC followed STAC's fast start with a 15-4 run to take their largest lead of the game at 20-16, and the battle was on.

With the Spartans holding a 30-29 edge midway through the half, Elijah Bovell stroked a three as part of a 10-2 burst, giving STAC its largest lead at 40-31 only to see the Yellow Jackets answer to draw within 44-42 at intermission. The largest second half lead for either team was five points until the score stood deadlocked at 80-80 with four minutes left.

Grant Singleton's big trey broke the tie with 3:25 on the clock and hoops by Demetre Roberts and Kevin Lynch outpaced a Jordan Vidal jumper for AIC, as the 7-2 spurt opened an 87-82 advantage in the final minute. Frankyn Batista made it a one possession game with a putback, but Roberts split a pair and Louis Griffith sank to secure the win.

Each team posted five scorers in double-figures, with Singleton's game-high 22 points leading the way, followed by Caraballo (19), Roberts (13), Bovell (12) and Griffith (10). Xion Golding led the balanced Yellow Jackets attack with a team-high 15.

The Spartans close out the regular season with a weekend showdown against Damen College on Saturday and Sunday, February 27 and 28, with tip time at 2:00 both days. STAC has clinched a first round bye in the upcoming ECC tournament and will host a semi-final contest on Friday, March 5 at Aquinas Hall, with opponents and time to be determined.