The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team held a late first-half lead before falling to Division I St. John's University, 97-71, at Carnesecca Arena in Flushing, NY. Matthew Lee led STAC with 20 points while Chaz Watler added 18. The exhibition contest, which will not count in team standings, was carried live nationally via ESPN3 and archived video can be accessed here.

Marcus Henderson got the upstart Spartans on the board first, netting a three-pointer 43 seconds into play. The Red Storm ran off an 11-2 run to grab an early lead, but STAC stunned the crowd with a 16-2 outburst over the next five minutes to take a 21-13 lead, forcing the hosts to call time out.

STAC opened it's biggest lead at an improbable 26-17 and still held a 33-30 edge with just over four minutes left in the half before St. John's turned the tide for good. The Spartans failed to score over nearly three minutes, and SJU's 10-0 run gave them a lead they would not relinquish, though their 43-37 halftime edge kept the visitors well within striking distance.

Any hopes for a stunning upset were quickly dashed, however, as St. John's bolted out of the gate with a 25-6 barrage over the first seven minutes of the second half, opening a comfortable 68-43 cushion and the Storm never looked back.

Phil Greene IV led four St. John's players in double-figures with a game-high 21 points, joined by teammates D'Angelo Harrison (19), Rysheed Jordan (17) and Sir'Dominic Pointer (13). Sam Berlin and Shaq McFarlan led the Spartans with six rebounds each.

The 2014-15 season begins in earnest next weekend with the Spartans hosting the St. Thomas Aquinas Classic on November 15 and 16. STAC opens by hosting St. Michaels at 8:00 pm Saturday before welcoming Pace for a 6:00 pm start Sunday.

St. Thomas Aquinas will then depart for the west coast, traveling to Spokane, Washington to take on Division I Gonzaga University in the opener of the National Invitation Tournament Tipoff Tourney on November 22. Game time is set for 9:00 Eastern.