The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team has advanced to the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semi-finals, where they will travel to meet #1 seed Dowling College on Friday, March 7. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm at Dowling Gym in Brookhaven, NY. Here's your guide to everything you need to know entering Friday's tilt.

For Video Click Here. For Live Stats Click Here.

The Season - St. Thomas Aquinas College finished the regular season with a 13-13 record overall, 9-11 in East Coast Conference play, good enough to take the #5 seed. The Spartans won five straight games early in the season and three in a row in January. Their longest losing streak was three games. STAC has alternated wins and losses over their past eight games, with their most recent outing being Wednesday's playoff win at LIU-Post. (see STAC Stats Here)

Dowling comes in with a 22-6 overall mark, earning the top seed with their 16-4 conference tally. The Golden Lions won their first seven ECC tilts, and their longest winning streak of the season saw them capture seven straight games and 10-of-11. Their only losing streak came in the season's final weeks, as they dropped a pair before winning their regular-season finale against District of Columbia. As their schedule included a regular conference bye the final weekend (due to the odd number of teams in the ECC), they have not played since February 26, a break of eight days entering Friday's match. (see Dowling Stats Here)

The ECC Tournament - Of the 11 schools in the ECC, Daemen College and Roberts Wesleyan College are not eligible for post-season play as they are probationary members. Of the remaining nine teams, the top six qualified for the ECC Tourney.

In Wednesday's quarter-finals, #5 seed St. Thomas Aquinas travels eliminated #4 LIU-Post, 64-62, with #6 Queens falling against #3 Molloy College, 69-58. Friday's semi-final clashes see STAC at #1 Dowling, with Molloy traveling to #2 Bridgeport. Both Dowling and Bridgeport earned first round byes.

The winners of Friday's semi-finals will play for the ECC Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, with the title clash set for Sunday, March 9 at the highest remaining seed.

(For Full ECC Tournament Info, Click Here)

The Match-Up - A pair of rising stars man the respective benches in this contest. In his first year at STAC, and after losing most of the top scorers from a year ago, Tobin Anderson has taken a squad predicted to finish 10th in the ECC pre-season poll to its first semi-final since 2008. A year ago, Steve Hayn was in the upstart slot, guiding his Dowling team to a surprise appearance in the conference final. This year he was rewarded by being named the ECC's Coach-of-the-Year.

St. Thomas Aquinas is led by freshman Chaz Watler (13.8 ppg), the ECC's Rookie-of-the-Year; and Second Team All-Conference selection senior Omar Kellman (13.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg). Firey junior point guard Marcus Henderson (13.6 ppg, 4.2 apg), an Honorable Mention All-ECC selection, has given a spark to the Spartans' offense, which can feature a variety of weapons on any given night, including junior Alushula Odongo (27 points at Molloy, 2/15/14), freshman Aaron Cust (26 points vs Daemen, 1/4/14; ECC Rookie-of-the-Week), and graduate student Eli Maravich (season-high 17 points in Wednesday's win at Post).

Dowling's Darien Davis is the player to watch on the offensive end, with his 21.0 points per game ranking second in the ECC. Justin Alexander (11.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg) has been a force at both ends, and Leon Taylor and Corwin Austin (10.6 ppg each) provide scoring depth that few in the conference have been able to match. Davis earned First Team All-Conference honors, while Alexander was tapped with Second Team kudos.

(For Full ECC Post-Season Awards, Click Here)

Previous Meetings - December 21, 2013 - Dowling 76 @ STAC 65 (box score, recap)

Back before Christmas, with Dowling in the midst of a torrid 9-1 start, the Golden Lions would come away with a win at Aquinas Hall. After a close first half, Darien Davis took charge, recording 21 of his game high 31 points in the second stanza. Evan Maxwell added 13 for Dowling while STAC - without the services of leading scorer Omar Kellman - were paced by Alushula Odongo's 11.

February 8, 2014 - @ Dowling 74, STAC 62 (OT) (box score, recap)

In the rematch seven weeks later, STAC was less than a minute away from returning the favor and posting an upset on Dowling's home court before falling in overtime. Neither team had a lead of more than six points in a tightly-contested first 40 minutes. Aaron Cust's basket gave the Spartans a lead they held into the final minute but a Davis free throw tied the score to send the game to extra time, which was dominated by the hosts. Davis totaled 27 points with Leon Taylor adding 18 for the Golden Lions, while Kellman paced STAC with 18 and Cust added 14.

What's Next? - The winner of Friday's semi-final contest advances to the ECC Men's Basketball Tournament final on Sunday, March 9, facing the winner of the Molloy-Bridgeport game. If STAC wins, they will be on the road while Dowling will host the final if they win Friday.