The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team rallied to a 68-64 victory in an East Coast Conference showdown against LIU Post at Aquinas Hall. Chaz Watler led five double-figures scorers for STAC with a game-high 16 points as the Spartans moved to STAC 16-9 overall and 13-3 in the ECC, with Post falling to 12-11, 7-8.
With their ninth victory in their last 10 games, the Spartans retained a share of first place in the conference after Bridgeport's 63-60 win over Daemen, as STAC currently holds the tiebreaker advantage. St. Thomas Aquinas has clinched a berth in the 2015 conference tournament and needs just one win in its final four ECC contests to earn a first-round bye into the tournament semi-finals.
Each team dug its heels in for a defensive battle, which saw the score tied at 12-12 after eight minutes of play when the Spartans went on the first burst of the day. STAC held the Pioneers scoreless over the next four minutes, and Watler's jumper capped a 9-0 run to give the hosts a 21-12 lead with eight minutes to play in the session.
Another Watler lay-up would put STAC in its biggest lead at 25-14, but LIU Post responded with tough defense of its own. Tyuan Williams' jumper with under a minute to play would help trim the deficit to 31-30, but Marcus Henderson would convert a pair of free throws and Shaq McFarlan would bank home a buzzer-beater from just inside midcourt to give the Spartans a 36-30 halftime edge.
Post would continue its momentum after the break, however, with Greg Dotson's jam giving his team a 40-39 lead after three minutes of action. They would extend that margin to as much as five at 48-43, but the Spartans managed to remain in the game in spite of their offensive struggles.
With Post carrying a 60-57 lead with five minutes left, Justin Reyes would hit a foul shot and Watler added a pair to tie the score. Jules de Courtenay snapped the deadlock with a pair of buckets, sealing a 7-0 run to give St. Thomas Aquinas a lead it would not relinquish, despite some anxious moments in the final minute. McFarlan's two free throws in the last six seconds would finally be enough to put the game out of reach.
STAC, which has now won 9-of-10 and 14-of-18 overall, shot just 37% from the field (19-51) compared to 46% for LIU Post (26-57), but the Spartans made the difference from the free throw stripe, hitting 27-of-35 attempts for a 77% clip. The Pioneers hurt their own cause going just 7-of-18 (39%).
The Spartans will now play their next four games on the road before returning to Aquinas Hall for their regular-season finale. On Monday, February 16, STAC will travel to face Southern New Hampshire University in a non-conference game that was a late addition to the schedule. They next take their home floor in the final game of the regular season on Saturday, February 28 when the University of the District of Columbia pays a call. Senior Day festivities will precede each game of the 1:00 double-header, which starts with women's action and will be followed by the men's teams at 3:30.