The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team battled to a 71-61 East Coast Conference triumph over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference meeting at Aquinas Hall. The nationally-ranked Spartans now stand at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in conference action, with Molloy slipping to 2-4, 2-3.

Entering the game with 10 straight victories dating to last season, the Spartans offense was off track early as Elijah Bovell's hoop on the game's first possession was their only points over the first five minutes, as James Montgomery and Steven Torre combined on a 9-0 run to put the Lions on top. Torre hit three early three-pointers as the margin extended to 15-7, but the defense clamped down with Molloy holding a 19-12 gap after nine minutes.

Kevin Lynch hit a pair of buckets as a 6-0 run brought STAC to within one, and Bovell tied the game at 22-22 with seven minutes left, and Antonio Vendola followed with a three to give the Spartans the lead. Demetre Roberts found the hot hand with back-to-back treys as a 19-3 explosion pushed the hosts to their biggest margin at 31-22, with the Spartans holding a 35-30 edge at intermission.

Second half action replicated the start of the first as a 12-4 run over nearly the first eight minutes put the Lions back on top at 42-39. Bovell tied the game with a three but Darren Fergus scored to make the score 44-42 with STAC's offense finally kicked into gear. Lynch tied the score again and Grant Singleton scored the next eight straight - including two treys - to touch off a 12-0 run over a 3:29 span to bolt to a 54-44 advantage. St. Thomas Aquinas would extend that margin to 68-51 with under four minutes left - a 26-7 barrage - and cruised over the final minutes.

Roberts led the comeback effort with 15 points, Singleton added 13, and Bovell was a force on defense with four blocks and three steals to go with his nine-point performance. Montgomery set the tone for Molloy, pouring in a game-high 23 points.

STAC has now won the first two meetings between the squads with the series finale set for Sunday, February 21 at 2:00 pm. The Spartans will then host American International College on Wednesday, February 24 in a 6:00 pm tip before closing out the regular season against Daemen with a pair next weekend.