The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team retained first place with a 75-71 victory in an East Coast Conference battle at Roberts Wesleyan College. Chaz Watler recorded a game-high 21 points as STAC improved to 18-10 overall, 14-3 in ECC action while RWC fell to 10-13, 6-11. The Spartans have now won 11 of their last 13 games and 16 of their last 21 overall.
Bridgeport kept pace with an 83-72 win at the University of the District of Columbia, remaining one-half game behind STAC in the ECC standings. The Spartans have two games left in the regular season and Bridgeport has three; as of now, STAC holds the tiebreaker over UB.
Despite playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Spartans had great jump early, with Aaron Cust's layup capping a 19-13 lead after less than six minutes of action. RWC battled back to tie at 26-26 on a Marcus Gooding jumper but STAC turned up the heat again, riding a 19-7 outburst en route to a 47-35 halftime advantage.
STAC continued its assault after the break, with Sam Berlin's jumper staking the visitors to a 54-37 advantage with 17:16 remaining. The hosts were not about to give up their court so easily, with four players responding with a quick 10-0 burst, getting the Redhawks right back into the contest.
That momentum would continue as Jamaal Carter's jumper capped off the 23-3 run, giving RWC a 60-57 advantage with 7:21 left. Watler would then turn the contest with a pair of treys in under a minute, and Marcus Henderson would add another to give STAC a 66-60 advantage with 5:23 on the clock.
Roberts Wesleyan would answer again, scoring the next seven points with Gooding hitting from distance at 2:41 to give the Redhawks a 67-66 edge. STAC's Henderson and RWC's Isaac Medeiros would each score their squad's next four points, keeping the home squad in a one-point lead with under a minute to go.
Once again, Watler would be the difference maker, putting his Spartans back on top, 72-71 on a jumper with :50 left. Gooding put his team in the hole with an offensive foul with 38 seconds to play, and Watler was sent to the line where he drained a pair with 21 seconds left. Gooding's three point attempt to tie the score was off the mark with 13 seconds to play, and Watler would convert one of two from the stripe to close out the scoring.
Henderson added 16 points and Justin Reyes kicked in 14 in the Spartan victory, offsetting Gooding's 18 for the Redhawks. STAC continued its string of outstanding ballhandling, allowing just seven turnovers on the afternoon to 15 for the home Redhawks.
The Spartans play their final road game of the regular season on Tuesday, February 24, traveling to face Mercy College in an East Coast Conference contest. They close out at home on Saturday, February 28, against the University of the District of Columbia, with Senior Day ceremonies to take place before the 3:30 pm tip.