The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team faces off against Daemen University in the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Final at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium in Sparkill at 2:30 pm on Sunday.
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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas - The top-seeded Spartans (25-4, 15-1 ECC) advanced to the ECC Championship game for the fourth consecutive year and first under Head Coach Matt Capell. They advanced on the strength of Jamal Barnes' 21-point performance in Saturday's 96-78 victory over #4 seeded University of the District of Columbia. Two Spartans punctuated the All-Conference awards, with James Patterson (14.3 ppg & 7.0 rpg) earning Rookie of the Year honors and both Patterson and teammate DeVante Jamison (14.7 ppg & 5.9 apg) taking First Team accolades. In addition, Matt Capell earned his first Coach of the Year award in his inaugural season at the helm of the maroon and gold. STAC once again prospered at both ends of the floor, standing first in the conference in team scoring (85.7 ppg) and second in defense (72.4 ppg).
The Teams - Daemen - The #2 seeded Wildcats (20-7, 12-4 ECC) buzzed its way to a 73-61 semi-final victory over #6 Roberts Wesleyan University. Dylan Fasoyiro led the way for Daemen with 30 points and averages 13.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Nick MacDonald (12.6 ppg), Joey Atkins (12.0 ppg & 6.2 rpg) and Andrew Mason (10.7 ppg) contribute to a deep lineup as the Wildcats currently rank third in team scoring (75.0 ppg) and first in defense (65.1 ppg).
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #6 ranked team, while Daemen holds the #8 position in the East per official NCAA rankings. Eight teams from the East will qualify for the 64-team field at the NCAA Division II Tournament, with automatic bids being earned by champions from the ECC, Northeast-10, and Central Atlantic Collegiate conferences, and the other five awarded on an at-large basis.
Season Series (Split 1-1):
December 9, 2022, @STAC 72, Daemen 70 - Jamal Barnes' three-point jumper with less than ten seconds left in regulation time sent STAC to the two-point come-from-behind victory at Aquinas Hall. DeVante Jamison led the way for the Spartans, recording 23 points, while Antonio Vendola (11 points) also scored in double-figures.
February 17, 2023 - @Daemen 83, STAC 57 - In the series finale at Lumsden Gymnasium, STAC saw its six-game win streak ended at the hands of the Wildcats. Justin Hemphill led all scorers with 21 points for Daemen, with Nick MacDonald (16 points), Andrew Mason (15 points), Joey Atkins (12 points) and Dylan Fasoyiro (10 points) helping to pace the offense for the hosts. Meanwhile, DeVante Jamison recorded 18 points for the Spartans, while James Patterson (13 points) and Antonio Vendola (11 points) also scored in double digits.
What's Next? - With Daemen and STAC standing as the top two teams in conference entering Sunday's finale, the winner of Sunday's conference tournament final will be crowned the 2023 ECC Men's Basketball Champion and receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The losing team will have to wait and see if the selection committee calls their name, late Sunday night, for an at-large bid among an already crowded field of worthy teams from both the Northeast-10 and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conferences.
2023 EAST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round – Wednesday, March 1 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 6 Roberts Wesleyan 71 at No. 3 Molloy 59
8:00 p.m. - No. 5 Staten Island 75 at No. 4 Dist. Columbia 85
Semifinals – Saturday, March 4 at St. Thomas Aquinas
12:00 p.m. - No. 4 Dist. Columbia 78 vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas 96
3:00 p.m. - No. 6 Roberts Wesleyan 61 vs. No. 2 Daemen 73
Final – Sunday, March 5 at St. Thomas Aquinas
2:30 p.m. - No. 2 Daemen vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Sunday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on both the Spartan Sports Network and the ECC Network.
LIVE statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Aquinas Hall or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING
All Games
$8 - General Admission
$4 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Children under 5 free for all games
* Must purchase a ticket to attend final round game on March 5 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. The ECC and Host Institutions will not guarantee that tickets will be available at the door. *