The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team rode a career-high 32 points from Chaz Watler to a 95-87 victory over Daemen College in an East Coast Conference battle at Aquinas Hall. The victory improved the Spartans to 8-8 overall and 5-2 in the ECC, dealing Daemen its first conference setback to fall to 5-1 in league play, and 10-4 overall.

Daemen was quick out of the box in grabbing a 5-2 lead on an Aaron Davis hoop but Watler responded by stroking a pair of treys in leading the Spartans on an 8-0 run. The visitors briefly regained the lead at 23-22 on Torrence Dyck's bucket but STAC remained calm, and a 14-5 outburst staked the hosts to a 49-39 halftime lead.

Watler would set the tone after the break by nailing another three-pointer just 18 seconds after the break, and STAC stunned the Wildcats in opening a 65-47 lead with 15 minutes to play.

Dyck would take charge as the visitors chipped away, with a 16-5 run putting them right back in the contest at 70-63 with over nine minutes remaining. Each time Daemen seemed on the verge of wresting control, STAC would come back with a big hoop, with several different players emerging in the hero's role.

Still, the undefeated visitors would ride the strength of Dyck's offensive barrage and draw to within 85-81 with 1:22 left. With the shot clock about to expire, Watler drained a fallaway trey that brought the crowd to its feet and helped the Spartans score their biggest victory of the season.

In addition to his 12-of-15 performance from the field, Watler led his squad with 10 rebounds and chipped in five assists, leading four scorers in double-figures. Jules de Courteney added a career-high 17 points, Shaq McFarlan posted 12 and seven assists, and Justin Reyes added 11. Dyck almost single-handedly willed his team to victory with a game-high 35 points, with Jordan Greene adding 18. The Spartans turned the ball over just nine times on the evening and shot an impressive 52% from the floor.

As an historic footnote, Watler's 32 points was the highest total for a STAC player since Justin Brown scored 37 in a loss at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on November 10, 2012.

The Spartans will be right back in action, hosting Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday, January 17, at Aquinas Hall in another ECC showdown. Game time is set for approximately 4:00 pm, as the back end of a double-header starting with the women's teams meeting at 2:00 pm.