Queens, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team had to repel a late comeback attempt by Queens College on Sunday afternoon, as the Spartans went on to defeat the Knights, 75-68 at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.

STAC improves to 20-4 and 13-1 in the ECC, winning its eighth straight game for the second time this season. Meanwhile, the Knights fall to 8-9 and 6-7 in conference play.

Four Spartans scored in double-figures, as Jerrel Kelly and Jamal Barnes led the way with 16 points each, followed by Demetre Roberts (12 points) and Luis Risquez (10 points). Eddie Mehmetaj led the Queens College scoring with 15 points.

STAC shot 49.2 percent from the field (31-63) in the conference contest, while Queens shot 46.7% (28-60) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight players logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Demetre Roberts led the Spartans with 10 assists on the afternoon.
• Roberts made six of his 16 field goal attempts, while Jamal Barnes went 6-for-10 and Jerrel Kelly 7-of-8 from the floor.
• The Spartans were 14-31 (45.2%) from the field in the first half and 17-32 (53.1%) from the floor in the second half.
• Queens out rebounded STAC by a 39 to 31 margin through 40 minutes of action, with Luis Risquez grabbing six boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up seven steals in the contest, with the Knights turning the ball over on 13 seperate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two team statistical categories over Queens: Points off of Turnovers (17-8) and Bench Points (36-21)
• The win is the eighth straight for St. Thomas Aquinas and the team's ninth victory in their last ten games.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first two minutes of action resulted in the teams going a combined 0-for-7 in field goal attempts, before Demetre Roberts broke the seal to make it 2-0 Spartans.
• STAC took an 13-8 lead, but Queens would go on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 13 all, at the under-12 minute media timeout.
• Back and forth play between the teams dominated large stretches of the middle portion of the half, with both sides trading baskets and neither team holding more than an eight point advantage.
• Even though St. Thomas Aquinas was able to get stops and score on the other end of the court, Queens would keep the margin on the scoreboard tight and narrow their deficit to only six-points (34-28) by way of a Malik Bentinck layup just before the halftime buzzer would sound.
• Demetre Roberts led all scorers, posting 10 first half points, while Eddie Mehmetaj and Shamar Chester recorded six points apiece.
• Following the break, STAC would extend its lead to 11 (39-28) via a Luis Risquez layup and Sean Moore trey. Queens would continue to battle, pushing the margin back to six (44-38) on a 10-5 run of their own.
• St. Thomas Aquinas regained multiple 10 and 11-point leads throughout the second half. However, the host Knights would fight back to close the gap to just five points late in the stanza at 71-66.
• A pair of free throws and a layup by Grant Singleton in the final seconds pushed the STAC advantage to nine (75-66).
• Fortunately, the clock would not be on the side of the Knights, who suffered its third straight defeat and second consecutive loss to the Spartans.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas heads to Western New York for an ECC showdown with Daemen College on Friday, February 18. Opening tip is set for 7:30pm at Lumsden Gymnasium in Amherst.