The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team took sole possession of first place with a 75-67 win over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference contest at Aquinas Hall. Chaz Watler led the way with 26 points as STAC improved to 15-8 overall, 11-2 in conference with Molloy falling to 12-10, 7-7.

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By virtue of NYIT's 114-103 overtime victory at Bridgeport, the Spartans now take sole possession of first place in the ECC standings, one game ahead of Bridgeport.

Eight lead changes punctuated the early minutes of the even struggle, with Molloy's Matt McLeod giving the visitors a two point edge only to see the Spartans answer with buckets by Aaron Cust and Shaq McFarlan to put the hosts on top midway through the first half.

That would be the catalyst for a 24-6 run, staking STAC to a 16 point lead which they would sustain at halftime, as a pair of Watler free throws gave his team a 38-22 advantage.

Molloy would chip away in the second half but only trim the margin to as little as 10 points until the waining minutes, as the Spartans consistently found the answer. Jaylen Morris hit a jumper with 3:30 left to bring the Lions to within 64-56, setting the stage for a nerve-wracking finish.

McLeod converted a three-point play to bring his troops within five, but a pair of Watler free throws and a McFarlan jumper created a seemingly-safe 69-59 cushion with 1:43 remaining. Molloy would draw to within 70-66 with 34 seconds to play, but the Spartans would hang on for their seventh straight triumph at Aquinas Hall, and their eighth overall victory over a 23-day span.

Marcus Henderson and McFarlan added 13 points each for STAC, with McLeod pacing Molloy with 20 points and Morris chipping in 13. The Spartans shot an impressive 24-of-29 from the foul line (83%), with the Lions coming in at 67% (20-of-30).

The Spartans hit the road to take on New York Institute of Technology on Wednesday, February 11, before returing to Aquinas Hall one week from today. STAC will host LIU Post on Saturday, February 14, with the women's contest opening an ECC double-header at 1:00 pm, followed by the men's tilt at 3:30.