The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team. earned its first-ever East Coast Conference men's basketball championship with an 80-63 win over Daemen College at the University of the District of Columbia. The Spartans will appear in their first ever NCAA Tournament.

Chaz Watler was named the tournament's Most Outstanding player, and Justin Reyes and Shaq McFarlan were named to the All-Tournament Team as STAC won it's 20th straight game to improve to 26-4 overall. Watler posted 20 points while Justin Reyes added 17 points and 17 rebounds. This marked the third straight trip to the Championship Game for the Spartans, who fell to the University of Bridgeport the previous two seasons.

After sweeping the regular-season series between the teams, the Spartans jumped out to a quick start on a Shaq McFarlan three, and Reyes added the next five points to stake the Regular Season Champs to an early 8-0 lead. A Jon Lawton lay-up just past the midway point of the half put STAC in a 28-12 advantage, but Arif Mehmetaj sparked the Wildcats on a late run, trimming the deficit to 43-42 at half.

Unfazed, the Spartans held Daemen off the scoreboard for the first 6:38 of the second half, and their 15-0 run opened up a comfortable 58-42 lead. While Daemen was able to hang tough, St. Thomas Aquinas had the answer in taking home the conference trophy.

McFarlan added 16 points for the Spartans with Lawton chipping in 11. Torrence Dyck paced the Wildcats with a game-high 22 points, and Mehmetaj contributed 16 with 11 caroms. STAC won the rebound battle by a 49-41 count and shot 47% from the floor (33-70).

The Spartans will now await tonights NCAA Championships selection show to determine their location and first-round opponents for the East Regional, which will be held next weekend.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information