The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team had four scorers register double-figures in points, but it was not enough in an 86-62 setback at Virginia State. STAC has now dropped four straight to fall to 1-8 overall on the season, while VSU has won three of four to stand at 4-4 on the campaign.

St. Thomas Aquinas overcame an early 8-0 run by the host Trojans to pull within three at 18-15 midway through the first half. A combination of cold shooting and tough defense by Virginia State set the Spartans attack reeling, as they went nearly five minutes without a point. STAC escaped serious damage, however, as VSU scored just six points during that span, which included a dry spell of 3 1/2 minutes in which neither team registered a point.

VSU would recover first, however, rebounding from a Sean James three-pointer to record the next 12 points and open a comfortable 36-18 edge. Despite another trey by James in the waning seconds, the Trojans marched into the locker room with a comfortable 43-25 halftime edge. STAC would never seriously threaten thereafter, unable to draw closer than within 16 points.

Omar Kellman led STAC with 13 points while Justin Brown, Eddie Johnson and TJ Jones added 11 each. Kenny Mitchell paced the Trojans with a game-high 21 points, with mates Allen Harris (17), Christopher Grier (14), and Mike Bynum (11) also posting double-figures.

The Spartans will not have a long wait to get back on the floor, traveling to Virginia Union tomorrow, December 30, for a 4:00 start. They will begin the new year with an East Coast Conference contest against Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, January 5, at Aquinas Hall with a 3:00 pm start.