The St. Thomas Aquinas men's basketball team beat Mercy College. 83-76.  Justin Brown had 26 points and 7 rebounds while Jamie Blanchard and Irin Stark each added 16 points.  Stark added 10 rebounds for the Spartans.  Nick Lopez chipped in 11 points and grabbed 7 boards.

The Spartans used a 13-4 run late in the first half to close within one, 41-40 with 1:47 to go.  However, the Mavericks used a 7-1 run to take a 48-41 lead into the break.  Brown shot 6-11 in the first half to lead STAC with 14 points.  

The Spartans drained three 3-pointers early in the second half to close within one, 55-54.  Brown hit 2 of his 4 3-pointers in the run while Kadeem King added one.  Stark hit a jumper at 12:32 to give the Spartans a 58-57 lead.  Despite one score change and a tie, the Spartans lead the rest of the way.  Blanchard scored a layup at 3:57 to put the Spartans ahead six, 73-67.  STAC closed the game out 7-8 from the foul line to secure the win.

The Spartans dominated Mercy on the boards, 43-27.  King added 4 rebounds to go with his 8 points for the Spartans.  Colin Senior had 21 points to lead Mercy.

The Spartans will return to action on Saturday when they host C.W. Post at 3:00 p.m.  Saturday's game represents the Pink Zone Game in which all fans are asked to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.