The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball struggled to find offense early and fell at LIU-Post, 66-58. Irin Stark led four Spartans in double-figures with 13 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent his team from falling to defeat, snapping a two-game winning streak.

Omar Kellman and Justin Brown chipped in with 12 points each and Dane Dixon recorded 11 for STAC, while Stefan Bonneau and Vaughn Allen led four Pioneers in double-figures with 15 apiece. Tobin Carberry added 14 points and Tyuan Willams contributed 13 for Post. With the victory, the Pioneers improved to 9-4 overall and 3-0 in the East Coast Conference, while the Spartans fell to 4-8, 1-3.

STAC's defense was on display early, holding the high-octane Post offense without a field goal for nearly the first four minutes of play, but were unable to take advantage, trailing 4-2. The Pioneers kicked it into high gear, however, exploding to a 26-8 bulge with just over nine minutes remaining in the half.

The Spartans were not content to mail it in, taking off on a 12-4 run to cut the tally to 30-20. Despite several opportunities to trim the deficit to single digits, the Spartans settled for a 33-22 halftime disadvantage.

Post reeled off the first four points after the break to go up 15, but St. Thomas Aquinas again answered the call, scoring the next five points to draw back within 37-27. Once again, the hosts threatened to pull away but an Irin Stark three keyed an 8-0 STAC run to draw to within 41-35. The hosts would not be denied, however, reeling off the next eight points in their own right as part of an 11-1 run and cruising thereafter.

Both teams struggled from the floor on the afternoon, with STAC recording 40% on 23-57 shooting while Post finished with 37% on 22-60. The hosts enjoyed the edge on the glass, ourtrebounding the Spartans 40-32.

The Spartans return to Aquinas Hall to face Dowling College in the nightcap of a twin-bill with the women's team on Wednesday, January 11, with tip-off time set for 7:30 pm. They continue their three-game homestand with a non-conference tilt against Felician College on Saturday, January 14, host NYIT on Wednesday, January 18 in a 7:30 pm start. You can catch all the action on video and follow along with our new Live Stats feature by clicking the appropriate links on the team schedule.