The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team takes on LIU Post in the semi-finals in of the East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament at the University of the District of Columbia at 5:00 on Saturday. Here's a preview of the weekend's action:

=====================

The Match-Up - The Spartans earned the top seed and first round bye into the conference semi-finals. LIU Post came in as the #4 seed and advanced on the strength of a 73-68 overtime win over #5 Bridgeport on Wednesday night at Pratt Recreation Center.

Prior Meetings - Series Tied, 1-1; The Pioneers invaded Aquinas Hall on December 19 and came away with a 75-66 victory on the strength of Greg Dotson's 21 points. That was the last game the Spartans lost, reeling off a string of 18 straight victories from that point. Included in that string is the February 6 rematch on Long Island, with STAC riding Chaz Watler's game-high 27 to a 71-58 win.

What's at Stake? - The winner advances to Sunday's ECC final at 2:30 pm, taking on the winner of #2 Daemen College against #6 Mercy College. That game will tip at 7:30 Saturday night. The winner of the ECC Tournament earns and automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament.

Players to Watch - Jared Hall led the offense for LIU Post with 18.6 ppg, good enough for 5th in scoring in the ECC and a 1st Team All Conference nod. Greg Dotson earned 2nd Team honors, on the strength of his 14.4 ppg and team-high 8.1 rpg. ECC Player of the Year Justin Reyes (17.3 ppg, 10.2 rpg) and 1st Team All-Conference selection Chaz Watler 15.0 ppg) join conference Rookie of the Year Jon Lawton (49% 3pt pct) in leading a deep Spartan attack.

Playoff History - These teams are no strangers, having met in each of the last two ECC Tournaments, with STAC winning both times at LIU Post. On March 5, 2014, the #5 seed Spartans squeezed out a 64-62 win over the Pioneers. Last season, with Post hosting the final weekend, the #1 seeded Spartans rallied for an 80-78 win, with Watler and Reyes giving STAC the late lead. St. Thomas Aquinas advanced to the championship final each of those two seasons, falling to the University of Bridgeport in the final.

After the ECCs - LIU Post comes in with seven ECC Championship titles in its history, but they will need to win an 8th to proceed to the NCAA Tournament, as they are currently unranked in the East Region. St. Thomas Aquinas College comes in ranked #6; while the Spartans could qualify for an at-large berth if they do not win the conference Automatic Qualifier, that is far from certain, pending the outcome of other conference tournaments. The NCAA 64-team field will be announced Sunday night.