The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team rolled to an 80-58 victory in an East Coast Conference battle at Queens College. The Spartans, ranked #15 in the nation in the NABC poll and #18 by D2SIDA, have won 11 of their last 13 to improve to 21-4 overall and 11-2 in the ECC, with Queens falling to 7-17, 5-9. St. Thomas Aquinas was also ranked #2 in the East Region in the first official NCAA ranking of the season, released earlier today.

STAC appeared ready to roll as Sekou Cisse scored the game's first six points, but Queens answered with a vengeance, utilizing three three-pointers to embark on a 14-0 run that would eventually extend to a 22-12 lead midway through the first half. The Spartans chipped away from there, narrowing the gap to 35-32 at intermission on a late Osbel Caraballo free throw.

From there, the visitors took charge with a trio of threes; Cisse scored a bucket and a foul shot to tie the score, Demetre Roberts converted a three-shot foul, and Louis Griffith drilled a three-pointer as STAC grabbed a 41-35 advantage. The Knights remained in the hunt as Dwayne Henry, Jr. hit a trey with 9:39 to close to 56-49, but Caraballo took control of the contest with nine points in a decisive 20-2 run that put the contest out of reach.

Caraballo recorded game highs of 26 points and nine rebounds, Cisse added 15, and Grant Singleton posted 11 for STAC. Elijah Bovell led three Queens scorers in double-figures with 16.

With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Spartans return to Aquinas Hall to face New York Tech on Saturday, February 22, with start time at approximately 3:00 pm after the conclusion of the women's game at 1:00. They travel to the University of Bridgeport - the region's top-ranked team - for a huge showdown on Wednesday, February 26, before closing out the slate against University of the District of Columbia at Aquinas Hall on Saturday, February 29.