Omar Kellman led all scorers with 16 points - all in the second half - yet the St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team came up just short at Dowling College, 52-48. The Spartans have now dropped five of their last six contests. Dowling's victory improves their record to 9-11 overall and 5-5 in East Coast Conference play, while STAC falls to 8-13, 4-8 in conference, still battling for a tourney slot with four league games remaining.
The evening got off to a promising start as a Nick Lopez layup on the Spartans' first possession appeared to get the ball rolling. The offense would go on hiatus, however, picking up just four points over the ensuing nearly 11 minutes as the Golden Lions drove to a 16-6 lead. The Spartans would show a pulse as Irin Stark and Mike Woods drained consecutive treys to cap an 8-0 run and close the gap to 16-14. Again, Dowling had an answer, reeling off eight of the next nine points before settling with a 26-21 halftime edge in the low-scoring affair.
Much as in the first meeting of these teams - a STAC home victory on January 11 - the Golden Lions would threaten to pull away only to see their foes close the gap. After coming up short on several opportunities, a Woods jumper at the 10:25 mark would finally draw the Spartans even at 36-36. Again, STAC would stall on offense, going nearly six minutes without a point, but seeing Dowling able to open only a narrow 41-36 margin. A pair of Justin Brown free throws and a Stark steal and layup would once again close the gap to one, but a big player was about to make big plays for the home team.
John Merchant buried three straight jumpers, two from beyond the arc, in a span of 101 seconds to once again create distance for Dowling at 49-42 with under two minutes to go. This time the cushion would prove too much to overcome as the Golden Lions held on for the decision.
Kellman, who was shut out and recorded just two rebounds in the first 20 minutes, was dominant in the second stanza, adding eight rebounds to his game-high point total. Stark added 10 points for the Spartans, while Merchant's 14 paced Dowling, to go along with teammate Michael Hill's 12. Hill also recorded one of his three blocks against Kellman in the final seconds, denying an apparent easy put-back that would have trimmed the deficit to two.
Dowling shot a torrid 56% from the field in the second half (10-18) and 47% overall (21-45), while STAC was held to just 35% accuracy (18-51). The final totals were very close, with narrow margins in rebounding (33-32, STAC), turnovers (15-13 STAC), and three-pointers (Dowling 4-12; STAC 3-12).
Each game will now take on increased meaning for the Spartans, with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. They return to Aquinas Hall to host LIU-Post this Saturday, February 11, with double-header action starting with the women's game at 1 pm. You can watch all the action live by clicking the link on the schedule and be sure to follow along on Live Stats. They will then travel to face NYIT on February 15, Caldwell in a non-conference tilt on February 18, and the University of Bridgeport on the 22nd before hosting Mercy College to wrap up the pre-tournament portion of the schedule on Senior Day, Saturday, February 25.