The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team battled but came up short at the University of the District of Columbia, 75-72, in spite of 22 points from Justin Brown and 21 from Sam Wilson. Both teams now stand with 2-10 overall records, the Spartans fall to 2-2 in East Coast Conference play while UDC improves to 1-3.

After the long trip to Washington, DC, the Spartans struggled to find their games as the hosts exploded to an 18-5 advantage just over seven minutes into play. STAC finally found the range, running a 16-5 spurt to trim the deficit to 23-21. STAC battled for their first tie of the game after a TJ Jones trey with under a minute to go, and took its first lead of the night on a Wilson three in the final seconds, entering the locker room with a 44-41 halftime edge.

STAC continued what would end up being a 15-0 run after the break, with a pair of Jones free throws opening up a 51-41 lead. The hosts would chip away, however, and Michael Terry's free throw helped them reclaim the advantage at 69-68 with 2:35 left.

Both teams traded leads in the final minutes, but the Firebirds were able to grab a 74-70 lead in with just 20 seconds remaining. Quasim Jones made one of two free throws, giving the Spartans one final chance with three seconds left, but a steal by Florent Pontans kept STAC from attempting a game-tying shot.

The Spartans hit 12 three-pointers on the game and were a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line, turning the ball over just 11 times overall.

STAC returns to action this Saturday, January 12, traveling to face Mercy College in another East Coast Conference contest. They will return to Aquinas Hall to host NYIT on Wednesday, January 19 in a 7:30 pm start.