The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team faces off against the University of Bridgeport in the East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament at the University of the District of Columbia at 2:30 pm Sunday.
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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketballl Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas College - The #2 seeded Spartans advanced to the ECC Championship Game for the sixth time in Coach Tobin Anderson's seven years at the helm. They advanced on the strength of Osbel Caraballo's 29 point performance in Saturday's 91-78 victory over #3 seeded Daemen College. Three Spartans punctuated the All-Conference awards, with Caraballo (17.0 ppg), and Demetre Roberts (15.2 ppg) taking First Team honors and Sekou Cisse (14.5 ppg) named to the Third Team. STAC once again prospered at both ends of the floor, standing third in the conference in team scoring and first in defense.
The Teams - Bridgeport - The #1 seeded Purple Knights (24-3, 15-1), 12-4) stormed to a 119-88 semi-final victory over #4 Molloy College. Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference standout Bakary Camara (16.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg), Hashem Abbas (15.0 ppg) and D'Vonne Trumbo (14.1 ppg) have led the high-powered Bridgeport squad, which enters play Sunday having won 20-of-21 overall, including a 17-game winning streak.
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans entered the post-season as the #2 ranked team in the East per official NCAA rankings, trailing only ECC foe Bridgeport. Eight teams from the East will qualify for the 64-team field at the NCAA Division II Tournament, with automatic bids being earned by champions from the ECC, Northeast-10, and Central Atlantic Collegiate conferences, and the other five awarded on an at-large basis. The Spartans are virtually assured of making their fifth straight NCAA appearance, as is top-ranked Bridgeport, who is in line to host the East Regional if they retain the top slot.
Season Series (UB, 2-0) - January 27, 2020, Bridgeport 87, @STAC 85 - With less than two seconds remaining in regulation, D'Vonne Trumbo stepped to the line for two shots to break an 85-85 tie. Surprisingly, he missed both ends but a seemingly-inevitable trip to overtime was short-circuited by Bakary Camara, who soared for the offensive board and beat the buzzer with a game-winning putback. Juan Coffi's 23 points led UB, with Camara adding 22. Four Spartans recorded double-figures, with Grant Singleton, Osbel Caraballo, and Louis Griffith each scoring 17 points, with Demetre Roberts just behind at 16.
February 26, 2020 - @Bridgeport 67, STAC 63 - A surprisingly defensive rematch saw UB holding a slim 63-62 edge with under two minutes to go in regulation, but a clutch three from Camara opened some breathing room as STAC came up empty with two chances to tie the score in the final minute.
What's Next? - With Bridgeport and STAC standing as the top two teams in the East Region entering Sunday's finale, both are assured a spot in the NCAA's 64-team field regardless of the outcome. Should Bridgeport hold on to the top slot, they would host the East Regional next weekend.