The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team closed a big gap in the final minutes before falling, 64-57 in an East Coast Conference match-up at LIU-Post. Aaron Cust came off the bench to lead the Spartans with 12 points as they dropped to 12-12 overall and 8-10 in the ECC. Post secured a top-four slot in the upcoming ECC Tournament, improving to 16-10, 11-7.

After an early exchange of field goals, a three-pointer by Marcus Henderson would help the Spartans open an 11-6 advantage. LIU-Post would battle back with the next six points to grab the lead with just under 12 minutes in the first half. That was the only lead the Pioneers would enjoy in the first 20 minutes, as STAC battled back with the next six points. The game remained close, however, with the Spartans settling for a narrow 25-24 lead at the break.

Post would turn that around, as an 8-0 run to start the second half proved to be decisive. The battle would once again be engaged, with Post extending its margin to as many as nine points only to see STAC draw back as close as within four.

An Omar Kellman bucket with 6:40 left brought the Spartans to within 47-42, but the hosts responded with the next five points to open a seemingly-comfortable 52-42 gap with 4:40 to play. Cust answered with a three-pointer and Kellman scored again to give the visitors hope, but the Pioneers seemed to have weathered the storm, leading 58-50 with 2:06 left.

Marcus Henderson hit four straight free throws to close the deficit in the final minute, but a pair of Post foul shots from Jared Hall made the score 60-54 with just 46 ticks left. Eli Maravich would proceed to drain a big trey just eight seconds later, bringing the Spartans to within one possession at 60-57.

That was as close as the visitors would get, however, as Post converted its free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win. Henderson added 10 points for the Spartans, while Post's Vaughn Allen led all scorers with 17 points and teammate Tyuan Williams added 16 and the Pioneers recorded a commanding 38-26 advantage on the glass.

The Spartans' final two regular-season games will be held at Aquinas Hall, with STAC hosting Molloy College on Monday, February 24 at 7:30 pm before welcoming Roberts Wesleyan College on Sunday, March 2, in a 3:00 pm start. Sunday's contest is also Senior Day, in which fans are encouraged to come out an celebrate seniors playing in their final home game.