The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team fell to a 79-70 East Coast Conference defeat to New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury. Chaz Watler tied for the game-high with 21 points to lead the Spartans who fell to 7-6 overall and 3-4 in ECC play, with NYIT improving to 6-7, 4-3.

NYIT utilized an early 7-0 run to jump out to a 12-4 advantage. The Spartans trimmed that margin to three points on a pair of occasions, including Omar Kellman's layup to pull to within 25-22 with nine minutes to play in the half.

Hot perimeter shooting and three treys spurred the Bears to a 10-1 run, though the visitors remained in striking distance at the half trailing by a 40-31 count.

Tech matched its biggest lead to that point on a Jahleel Felix jumper to make the score 44-32 after just two minutes, but four points from Omar Kellman and three from Watler keyed a 7-0 spurt to draw the Spartans back to within five at 44-39.

With the margin remaing at 52-47 after seven minutes of action, NYIT took charge of the affair, embarking on a 20-3 run that would give them a 72-50 advantage, all but sealing the deal. STAC did close with a 17-5 run to make the outcome respectable, but never seriously threatened.

In addition to Watler's scoring, Kellman added 13 points, and Marcus Henderson and Alshula Odongo chipped in 11 each as STAC sported four scorers in double-figures. The hosts could boast of the same, with Felix leading the pack with 21 points, followed by Phil Izevbehai (13), Erick Satchell (12) and Markus Moore (10). Tech dominated the glass battle, outrebounding STAC by a 39-25 count.

The Spartans hit the floor this Saturday, January 18, when they host an ECC match against LIU-Post at Aquinas Hall. Game time is set for 3:00 as the back end of a twin-bill, featuring the women's teams tipping off at 1:00 pm.