The St. Thomas Aquinas College men 's basketball team overcame an early deficit to record a 75-60 decision over Daemen College in an east Coast Conference showdown at Aquinas Hall. STAC, ranked #7 in this week's NCAA East poll, improves to 20-5 overall and 12-3 in the ECC, with #2 ranked Daemen seeing its 10-game winning streak snapped to fall to 21-4, 13-2. The Spartans remain in third place in the conference standings, just one game behind Daemen and one-half game behind Molloy with three games remaining. STAC can clinch a first-round bye with a win over Molloy and a victory in one of its two other remaining contests.

STAC went scoreless over the first three minutes of play but tough defense kept the deficit at a manageable 5-0. Zachary Rzewnicki struck from deep to bring the Spartans to within 10-9 with 13:39 to play in the first half, but treys from Jeff Redband and Quinn Lee Yaw keyed a 12-2 Daemen run, opening up a 22-11 advantage midway through the half. 

Though the offense was held to just 11 points in the first 11 minutes, the Spartans began to find their rhythm, with layups from Kevin Lynch and Louis Griffith trimming the deficit to 22-15. STAC held the high-powered Wildcats to just one point over a five-minute span, and Sekou Cisse capped a 14-1 run by giving the hosts their first lead at 25-23 with 5:02 on the clock. Daemen regained the edge but Demetre Roberts put the Spartans back on top from deep, and a late Lynch layup staked STAC to a 36-33 halftime lead.

With St. Thomas Aquinas nursing a narrow 38-36 edge, the Wildcats were held without a point for over four minutes, with Cisse hitting a pair of buckets - including a thunderous alley-oop jam - in an 8-0 run that opened a 46-36 margin. The visitors continued to struggle with STAC's defense, but layups from Lee Yaw and Andrew Sischo brought Daemen from a 13-point deficit to within 61-55 with five minutes to go.

Demetre Roberts righted the ship by hitting four straight from the foul line as STAC reeled off 10 free throws in a 12-0 run, opening a 73-55 lead that would seal the win. Roberts led four Spartans in double-figures with a game-high 18, with Cisse (17), Lynch (12) and Griffith (11) adding to the attack. Sischo was the only Wildcat to record double-figures, netting 15 points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Spartans return to action with a quick turnaround, hosting Roberts Wesleyan College on Sunday, February 24, at approximately 3:00 pm as the back end of doubleheader action starting with the women's teams squaring off at 1:00. They travel to face Queens on Wednesday, February 27, before wrapping up the regular season back at Aquinas Hall against Molloy on Saturday, March 2. STAC has already clinched a berth in the the ECC Tournament, with first round action starting on Wednesday, March 6, and the semi-finals and finals on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 respectively, at the University of Bridgeport.