Omar Kellman set the pace with 16 points and nine rebounds, leading three scorers in double-figures as the St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team took a 62-58 victory over NYIT. The win was the Spartans fifth in their last six games overall, improving their season tally to 7-8, 3-3 in East Coast Conference play. The Bears fell to 5-10 overall, 2-4 in the ECC.

Both teams struggled to find their offense in the first half, with the Spartans holding a modest 8-4 lead after seven minutes of play. NYIT - playing without the services of top scorer Kayvon Roberts due to injury - clamped down on defense and outscored STAC, 20-10, over the next 11 minutes and proceeded to take a hard-fought 25-21 lead into halftime.

After the hosts scored the first four points of the second stanza to deadlock matters, the teams engaged in a fierce struggle, which saw the score tied on six occasions over an eight minute period. In all, the score was tied ten times in the second half alone, until St. Thomas Aquinas finally wrested control from their fiesty opponents.

Irin Stark's lay-up with 3:13 left snapped a 48-48 deadlock and lifted his team to a 7-0 run. While the Spartans would retain that seven point cushion with less than a minute to play, the Bears drew to within two before clutch free throws by Justin Brown and Sam Wilson sealed the deal.

Stark added 14 points while Brown tallied 12 with eight boards for STAC. Russell Holloway led the way for NYIT, tying Kellman with a game-high 16 points. Jahleel Felix (15 points) and Dominic Scurry (14 points, 10 boards) also helped keep the Bears in this one until the end.

STAC shot 42% from the field on the evening (22-52, including 13-26 in the second half), while NYIT was held to just 32% (18-56). The Bears claimed the rebounding battle, 43-37, while the Spartans aided their cause by turning the ball over just 12 times, three in the entire second half.

The Spartans return to action for an ECC showdown at Mercy College on Saturday, January 21 in a 3 pm start before returning home to face the University of Bridgeport on Wednesday, January 25 with the action scheduled to commence at 7:30 pm at Aquinas Hall as the back end of a twin-bill with the women's teams. You can watch all the action and follow along with Live Stats by clicking the appropriate schedule links at game time.