The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team travels to take on LIU-Post in the quarter-finals of the East Coast Conference Tournament on Wednesday, March 5. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm at Pratt Center in Brookville, NY. Here's your guide to everything you need to know entering Wednesday'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 seven games, with their most recent outing being an 80-65 loss to Roberts Wesleyan on March 2. (see STAC Stats Here)
LIU-Post was 17-11 overall 12-8 in conference play, earning the #4 seed. The Pioneers ran off an eight-game winning streak before the holiday break and never lost more than two straight games on the campaign. Post saw a three-game winning streak snapped in its regular season finale, a 51-46 setback at Queens College on March 1. (see Post Stats Here)
The ECC Tournament - Of the 11 schools listed in the ECC Standings, Daemen College and Roberts Wesleyan College are not eligible for post-season play as they are probationary members, though their regular-season games do count in the standings. Of the remaining nine teams, the top six qualify for the ECC Tourney.
As the #5 seed, St. Thomas Aquinas travels to play #4 LIU-Post, with #6 Queens traveling to face #3 Molloy College this Wednesday in quarter-final action.
The winner of the STAC-Post game will go to #1 Dowling College, and the the winner of Queens-Molloy will take on #2 University of Bridgeport on Friday, March 7. The winners of those 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 - Each team features first-year coaches at the helm, with STAC's Tobin Anderson leading the program to its first post-season appearance since 2008-09, while Post's Erik Smiles continued the Pioneers' stance as a perennial post-season participant.
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 (33 three-pointers).
LIU-Post features powerful frontcourt presence and First Team All-Conference selection senior Vaughn Allen (16.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg); while junior PJ Torres (16.6 ppg, 3.9 apg) earned Second Team honors. Junior forward Tyuan Williams (11.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) gives the Pioneers one of the most formidable forward tandems in the conference.
(For Full ECC Post-Season Awards, Click Here)
Previous Meetings - January 18, 2014 - Post 92 @ STAC 90 (ot) (box score, recap)
In one of the most exciting games of the season, the Spartans suffered a heartbreaking home loss on a PJ Torres lay-up with just three seconds remaining in overtime. STAC utilized a 24-3 first half run to turn a 12-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Marcus Henderson gave the Spartans a lead with less than a minute left in regulation before Torres came through with 17 ticks left, tying the game for the 11th time and sending to to OT. STAC led by five points with a minute to play in the overtime but could not hold on to the advantage. Isiah Stokley recorded 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Pioneers, with Watler putting up 21 for the hosts.
February 22, 2014 - @ Post 64, STAC 57 (box score, recap)
In another hard-fought contest just over a week ago, St. Thomas Aquinas trailed for less than a minute in the first half, but never extended its lead beyond five points during that span. Post rebounded to grab a 10-point edge with under five minutes to play, only to see the Spartans rally to draw within three on on Eli Maravich trey in the final minute, before the hosts secured the win. Vaughn Allen led Post with 17 points, while Aaron Cust paced the Spartans with 12.
What's Next? - The winner of Wednesday's quarter-final contest travels to face #1 seed Dowling College at 7:00 pm on Friday, March 7, in Brookhaven. The winner of that game advances to the final on Sunday, March 9.