Waltham, Mass. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team orchestrated its second straight come from behind victory, this time to eliminate #6 seeded University of New Haven, 71-61 in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament, at the Dana Center on the campus of Bentley University.

#7 seed STAC improves to 28-4 on the season and advances to the East Region Final on Tuesday evening, facing the top seed and hosts Bentley at 7:00 p.m. New Haven closes its 2021-22 campaign at 18-9. 

Grant Singleton posted a game-leading 20 points for the Spartans, with 17 of those coming in the final 20 minutes of action. Osbel Caraballo (17 points) and Demetre Roberts (14 points) also scored in double figures. Derrick Rowland and Tavin Pierre Philippe paced the Chargers offense with 13 points apiece. 

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 46.8 percent from the field (29-62) and 43.8 percent from behind the arc (7-16), while New Haven shot 45.7 percent (21-46) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven players recorded double-digit minutes in the semifinal matchup.
• Demetre Roberts led the Spartans with five assists on the evening.
• Grant Singleton made 8 of his 13 field goal attempts, with 3-of-6 going in from three. Meanwhile, Osbel Caraballo went 7-for-14 from the floor.
• St. Thomas Aquinas out rebounded New Haven 31-30 in 40 minutes of action, with Sean Moore grabbing six boards for the Spartans.
• STAC picked up 12 steals in the contest, with New Haven turning the ball over on 17 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over the Chargers: Points off Turnovers (25-12), Second Chance Points (13-0) and Points in the Paint (36-28).
• The victory by St. Thomas Aquinas is the team's 16th straight, dating back to January 23.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A tightly contested start by both teams led to New Haven holding a slim one-point advantage, 11-10 at the under 16-minute media timeout.
• STAC would gain its first lead of the day on the strength of a 9-4 run to go up 20-14 with just under 11 and a half minutes to play in the opening stanza. 
• Tough defense and see-saw play kept the Spartans and Chargers to 18 total points over the final 11:30 of the first half, as St. Thomas Aquinas took a 27-25 advantage into the locker room at the break.
• Demetre Roberts lead all scorers with eight points first half points, while Davontrey Thomas and Majur Majak posted six points each for New Haven.
• Following the intermission, New Haven tied the game up at 27 all in the early moments of the second half, with STAC regaining a four-point lead via layups by Osbel Caraballo and Grant Singleton to make it 31-27.
• The Chargers then went on a 18-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to take the lead 45-31.
• With New Haven leading by as much as 14, STAC began to chip away at the deficit, cutting it all the way down to one (51-50), forcing a Charger timeout with 8:01 left to play.
• St. Thomas Aquinas finally regained the lead, 53-52 on a Sean Moore trey, before New Haven tied it again at 53-53 on a made free-throw by Derrick Rowland.
• A Grant Singleton layup with 6:31 left in regulation gave STAC back its lead (55-53), which they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
• Osbel Caraballo then scored the next six points and buckets by Antonio Vendola and Grant Singleton extended the Spartan advantage to six at 65-59 going into the final media timeout of the contest.
• One final run (6-2) by the Spartans to close out the game gave STAC the 71-61 triumph and moves them onto Tuesday's Regional Final.

UP NEXT:

#7 St. Thomas Aquinas takes on the top seed and hosts Bentley University in the finals of the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament on Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Bentley advanced via a 96-84 overtime victory against #5 Pace University. 

2022 NCAA EAST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Saturday, March 12 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: #6 New Haven 78 vs. #3 Saint Anselm 70 (BOX SCORE)
Game 2: #7 St. Thomas Aquinas 76 vs. #2 Franklin Pierce 69 (BOX SCORE)
Game 3: #8 Felician 63 vs. #1 Bentley 95 (BOX SCORE)
Game 4: #5 Pace 77 vs. #4 Dominican 64 (BOX SCORE)

Sunday, March 13 - Semifinals
Game 5: #6 New Haven 61 vs. #7 St. Thomas Aquinas 71 (BOX SCORE)
Game 6: #1 Bentley 96 vs. #5 Pace 84 F/OT (BOX SCORE)

Tuesday, March 15 - Championship
Game 7: #7 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. #1 Bentley - 7 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)