The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team fell to the University of Bridgeport, 94-73, in the Championship Game of the East Coast Conference Tournament. Omar Kellman totaled a game-high 25 points, topping the 1,000 career mark with 1,007. Bridgeport captured its second straight ECC title and third overall, improving to 18-10, while the Spartans closed a string campaign at 15-14 overall.

Bridgeport shot the lights out from downtown, hitting 16 threes and flirting with at shooting percentage of .600 from the field for most of the afternoon to spark the win. Ivan Simic led five scorers in double-figures with 17 points. With the victory, the University of Bridgeport receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.

STAC got off to a strong start, with a Kellman jumper putting them in a 9-7 lead three minutes into the game. Ognjen Zoric proceeded to hit a pair of three-pointers for Bridgeport, touching off a 17-2 run over the next five minutes, putting the Purple Knights in the drivers' seat to stay.

Three minutes later, the Spartans would draw to within 26-20 on another Kellman bucket, but UB took off on a 13-4 run, opening their advantage to 15 points. STAC trailed 46-34 at halftime and converted on their first three possessions of the second stanza, but Bridgeport matched the Spartans' performance and another 10-3 outburst gave them a commanding 69-50 cushion midway through the half.

Though the Spartans battled to the final buzzer, Bridgeport had all the answers, claiming the ECC title in what was their seventh straight appearance in the tournament finals.

The appearance in the ECC Tournament finals was the first ever for the Spartans, who were playing their their third road playoff game in five days. STAC was predicted to finith in 10th place in the conference in the pre-season coaches poll, and well exceeded expectations under first-year coach Tobin Anderson.