The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team took its 11th straight victory, an 85-63 decision over New York Institute of Technology at Aquinas Hall. STAC forced 31 turnovers in the win, with Justin Reyes grabbing seven steals. The Spartans are now 17-4 overall and 11-2 in the ECC, with NYIT dropping to 3-16, 2-10.

STAC extended its lead atop the conference standings over idle Daemen and Bridgeport, which both stand at 8-3. This week the Spartans also improved to #7 in the East Regional Rankings compiled by the Division II Sports Information Directors' Association (DIISIDA).

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After Khalif Chaplin opened the game with a three-pointer for Tech, the Spartans' full-court pressure took its toll on the visitors as STAC reeled off an 18-0 run. During that span of just over seven minutes, NYIT was forced into 11 turnovers in 15 possessions, including nine of its last 10 before Chaplin broke the skid with another trey.

In all, the Bears committed 18 turnovers in the first half alone as the Spartans carried a 40-23 lead into the locker room, and the hosts' lead grew to as many as 27 during the second half, as NYIT never drew closer than 13 points.

Reyes led the Spartans with 16 points, Aaron Cust and Jules deCourtenay added 11 each, and Jon Lawton posted 10. Chaplin recorded a game-high 24 for NYIT, while Jerrel Green tallied 16 points and 18 rebounds.

The Spartans head to LIU Post for a big ECC showdown on Saturday, February 6, before returning to Aquinas Hall to host Daemen College on Thursday, February 11. That game will start at approximately 8:00 pm, as the back end of a double-header with the women's teams starting at 6:00 pm.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information