The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team dropped it's season opener, a 92-80 setback to St. Michael's College in the first day of the STAC Basketball Classic. Matt Lee led all scorers with 24 points while St. Michael's utilized a balanced attack with six scorers in double-figures.

Sam Berlin's bucket capped a frantic start, giving the Spartans an early 10-9 edge after less than three minutes of play. Dom Ditlefsen quickely answered with a trey for the Purple Knights, setting the visitors on a 12-0 run which saw the hosts held scoreless for nearly five minutes.

STAC would return the favor, however, with a 9-0 run bringing them back to within a bucket midway through the first half. The theme of the night would be set, with the Purple Knights extending their lead to as many as 10 on a pair of occasions only to see the Spartans draw as close as a pair before settling for a 43-35 halftime deficit.

Morrell Gaskins hit a layup in the early minutes of the second half to match that 10 point margin at 54-44, only to see Aaron Cust's trey cap an 8-0 run to once again bring STAC to within a pair. Lee's hoop with six minutes remaining would leave the Spartans trailing, 74-71, but St. Michael's would go on yet another 7-0 burst, opening up a double-digit lead that would not be threatened.

SMC was torrid from the perimeter, shotting 60% for the game (12-20) and commanded a 39-16 dominance on the glass, despite recording 25 turnovers to just 12 for STAC. Justin Reyes came off the bench to record 14 points for STAC with Chaz Watler adding 10.

Corey Crawford (21 points) led the way for the visitors, joined by teammates Mike Holton (13), James Cambronne (12), Dom Ditlefsen (11) and Mike Thompson and Matt Bonds (10 each) in double-figures.

Earlier in the evening, Molloy College capped a second-half comeback with a controversial 59-57 victory over Pace University. A potential game-tying basket for the Setters was waved off as having been taken just after the buzzer.

The STAC Classic concludes tomorrow, Sunday, November 16, when Molloy takes on St. Michael's starting at 4:00 pm, followed by the Spartans hosting Pace with tip set for approximately 6:00 pm.