Queens, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team continued its charge to the playoffs on Saturday by earning its sixth straight victory, an 89-76 triumph over Queens College at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.

STAC improves to 17-3 overall and 9-1 in ECC play, while Queens falls to 12-9 and 6-4.

Jamal Barnes led the way for the Spartans with 22 points, while teammates James Patterson (21 points), Vasilis Tolias (11 points) and Rich Smith (10 points) also posted double figures in scoring.

STAC shot 45.6 percent (36-79) from the field, while Queens shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the floor and 50.0 percent (9-18) from beyond the arc.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Rich Smith led the maroon and gold with eight assists on the afternoon.
• Jamal Barnes hit 8 of his 13 field goal attempts, with 6-of-11 going in from distance. Meanwhile, James Patterson went 9-for-20 from the floor.
• STAC out-rebounded Queens by a 43-37 margin, with James Patterson grabbing a team-high nine boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up nine steals, with the Knights turning the ball over on 19 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Queens: Points off Turnovers (26-4), Points in the Paint (42-34), Fastbreak Points (15-14) and Bench Points (22-13).
• The game featured three ties and eight lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the contest came with five and a half minutes remaining in the second half, when Spartans led by 15 points, 78-63 on a Jamal Barnes made jump shot.
• The Spartans held a 40-33 advantage going into the halftime locker room.
• James Patterson and Jamal Barnes led the Spartans first half scoring with nine points apiece.
• STAC shot 51.2 percent (21-of-41) from the field in the second half, as the maroon and gold tallied 49 total points in the stanza.

QUEENS NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Knights logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Shamar Chester led all scorers with 26 points, while teammates Omar Nkonde (12pts), Jayden Seraphin (12pts) and Zyeir Lawrence (11pts) also scored in double digits.
• Javier Contreras led Queens with a team-high five assists on the afternoon.
• Shamar Chester went 10-for-16 from the floor and 4-of-8 from downtown, with Jayden Seraphin hitting 5 of his 15 field goal attempts.
• Omar Nkonde grabbed a game-high ten boards for the Knights.
• Queens picked up three steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 12 separate occasions.
• QC earned one advantage in the team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Second Chance Points (12-11).
• The Knights largest lead of the game was by two points (29-27), which took place with just over five minutes to play in the first half.
• Shamar Chester led all first half scorers with 12 points in the opening frame.
• Queens shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from beyond the arc in the second half, en route to a 43-point period.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas heads to Connecticut for a Wednesday night (February 7) non-conference meeting with the University of Bridgeport. The Spartans and Purple Knights will do battle at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium beginning at 7:00 p.m.