The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team trimmed a 14-point deficit to just two before falling to Queens College, 69-64, in an East Coast Conference tilt at Aquinas Hall. Shaquille McFarlan led the Spartans with 17 points as his team fell to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the ECC, with Queens improving to 2-3, 1-0.

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the opening minutes, but Queens provided the first outburst with a 12-4 run to open an 18-10 advantage just past the midway point of the first half. The deficit would stay in that range through the end of the half, which saw the Knights take a 32-23 lead into the locker room.

Despite playing with more urgency in the second half, STAC saw Queens extend their lead to 51-37 with 11:44 left, and Kyheim Chaplin's hoop with six minutes left saw the visitors remain in charge at 59-48.

McFarlan ignited the rally with a basket and a three-pointer, and a pair of Chaz Watler foul shots drew the gap to 59-55 with 3:55 left. Aaron Cust would run the floor off a Queens miss, and was fouled in the act of cutting the score to 59-57, though he would miss the ensuing foul shot.

That was as close as the Spartans would get, however, as Chaplin and Tyree White came through down the stretch to guide the Knights to the win. White was impressive for Queens, pouring in a game-high 28 points while Chaplin added 14. Watler scored 13 for the Spartans, with Justin Reyes clearing a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday, December 12, hosting Molloy College in an East Coast Conference showdown. Game time is 3:00 pm, as the back end of a double-header following the women's teams tipping off at 1:00 pm.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information