The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team soared to its 12th straight victory, a 71-58 East Coast Conference win at LIU Post, on the strength of Chaz Watler's game-high 29 points. STAC remains in first place in the ECC with a 12-2 record while improving to 18-4 overall, dropping the Pioneers to 13-9, 8-6.

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Post rode an early 11-0 run to jump to a 14-5 lead, but a trio of three-pointers - two by Shaq McFarlan and another by Jonathan Lawton - helped cut the gap to 16-14. In all, a barrage of seven first-half three-pointers rallied the Spartans to a 30-27 halftime edge, as STAC recorded eight of the session's final 10 points.

With the Spartans holding a 38-36 lead early in the second, STAC utilized an 11-0 run to build a a 49-36 lead, and the visitors never looked back. A pair of Watler free-throws ballooned the gap to 69-50 with just three minutes to play, and the Spartans cruised from there.

McFarlan added 17 points and Lawton chipped in 14 for STAC, while Jared Hall led the way for the Pioneers with 17. The Spartans owned a narrow 32-31 advantage on the boards and forced 22 Post turnovers, while yielding just 15.

The Spartans return to Aquinas Hall for their next three games, starting with a big ECC showdown against Daemen College on Thursday, February 11. Game time is approximately 8:00 pm, following the women's game. STAC will host Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, February 13, and Mercy College on Tuesday, February 16, to complete the home-stand.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden