The St. Thomas Aquinas men's basketball team lost to Dowling, 61-57.  Nick Lopez had 16 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.  Irin Stark had 15 points while Jamie Blanchard added 10 points and 5 rebounds.

The Spartans open the game with a 13-5 run.  Stark had five points in the early run.  Kadeem King scored a layup to put STAC ahead 17-7 at the 9:30 mark.  The Spartans maintained a lead through the first half going into the break with a 36-31 lead as Omar Kellman hit a jumper at the buzzer. 

Jake Stevens hit a jumper for the Golden Lions at the 13:14 mark to go ahead 45-44.  Dowling used an 8-0 run to take a 53-46 lead with 7:07 left in the game.  Stark hit a 3-pointer at 4:59 to tie the game 53-53.  Lopez gave the Spartans their final tie at 55 with 3:40 remaining.  The Golden Lions outscored the Spartans 6-2 in the final minutes of action to finish out on top. 

The Spartans will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Mercy College for a 7:30 game.