Omar Kellman exploded with career highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds and James Ockimey added a career high of his own with 22 points to lead the St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team to a 76-73 win at Molloy in a wild contest at Quealy Gymnasium.
Justin Brown kicked in with 20 points and eight boards to offset Molloy's John Petrucelli, who recorded a game-high 30 points while teammate Jimmy Nolan added 24. The victory was the Spartans' second straight and improved their overall record to 4-7, 1-2 in East Coast Conference play, while the host Lions slipped to 4-9, 1-2.
In a game that saw 12 tied scores and 18 lead changes in all, neither team established a lead of more than three points over the first 18 minutes of action. Nolan connected on all four of his three-point attempts, sending his Lions into the locker room with a 35-29 halftime edge.
Molloy extended that lead with the first two points after the break, but the Spartans would turn up the defensive pressure, holding the hosts scoreless over the next six minutes and embarking on an 11-0 run to grab the lead at 40-37. The Lions shot just 1-15 from the field over the first 15 minutes of the second half. Once again the tug-of-war was engaged, with STAC leading by as many as five only to see Molloy battle back, setting the stage for a fantastic finish.
With the visitors up 55-50 with under three minutes left, the Lions roared to an 8-0 run to take the lead with under a minute remaining. An Ockimey bucket trimmed it to 58-57 with 36 ticks on the clock. A Spartan foul with :24 left sent Molloy's Matt McLeod to the line, where the freshman calmly drained two free throws.
With time winding down, Brown missed a three for the tie, but Kellman grabbed the offensive board, converted the basket and was fouled with 10 seconds left, sending him to the line with a chance to tie. Kellman missed the free throw, but STAC was far from done, fouling Petrucelli with just nine seconds left.
Petrucelli converted just one of two to make it 61-59, and with time running out, Ockimey's brilliant pump fake got his defender off the ground, drawing a three-shot foul with just 1.9 left on the clock. Ockimey drained the first two, but missed the final shot, sending the affair to OT.
After Nolan broke the seal with a three to start the extra frame, the visitors took off on a 12-2 run to open a 73-66 lead. While Molloy would trim that deficit with as little as two - and have chances to tie or take the lead - the Spartans were able to hold on for a big road victory.
STAC shot 41% from the field overall (27-66) while holding Molloy to just 34% (19-56). Thanks largely to Kellman's prowess on the glass, the Spartans enjoyed a decisive 48-33 rebounding margin. The Lions stayed close thanks to their impressive 88% foul shooting (27-32) while St. Thomas Aquinas was a solid 75% (18-24) from the stripe in its own right.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, January 7, 2012 as they travel to Greenvale, New York to take on C.W. Post before returning to Aquinas Hall to face Dowling College in a twin-bill with the women's team on Wednesday, January 11.