The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team, ranked #20 in the nation, pulled away for a 93-78 victory over Adelphi University in the Home Opener at Aquinas Hall. The Spartans improved to a perfect 5-0 overall, while Adelphi suffered its first loss to fall to 3-1. Demetre Roberts led the hosts with 19 points, while Dwaine Williams' game-high 31 was not enough for the Panthers.

Tim Delaney opened the scoring with a three-pointer for Adelphi, but the Spartans roared back as Kevin Lynch scored seven points in an 11-0 run. With STAC holding a 22-11 lead eight minutes into the action, Williams hit three from deep as the Panthers rode a 14-2 run to a 25-24 edge. The Spartan defense dug in and an 11-3 burst over a five minute span opened a 37-30 lead which became a 44-37 advantage at intermission.

STAC extended that gap to 51-37 as Roberts' trey capped a 7-0 run to start the second half. The Spartans threatened to pull away as a Louis Griffith lay-up opened a 65-49 cushion, but the visitors made one final push. Trailing 76-63 with 6:40 remaining, Williams added the next eight straight in just over a minute with a three-point play, a three-point field goal, and a pair of free throws, drawing to 76-71 with 5:26 still on the clock.

That was as close as the score would get as Grant Singleton took charge with eight points in a decisive 15-3 run, securing the fifth straight win for St. Thomas Aquinas. Singleton ended the night with 14, Sekou Cisse added 13, and Kevin Lynch added 10, while Jamar Sudan grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Jared Rivers chipped in 16 for the Panthers, who were outrebounded by a dominant 35-18 margin.

The Spartans hit the road for another big regional matchup on Saturday, November 23, taking on Jefferson University for a 1:00 pm tip. They return to Aquinas Hall for a rivalry showdown with Dominican College on Monday, November 25, starting at 7:00 pm.