Easton, Mass.- A clutch jump shot by senior Demetre Roberts with 4:14 to play in regulation gave the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team a 47-45 lead which they never relinquished, as the Spartans topped the host Stonehill College Skyhawks, 53-49, on Wednesday night at Merkert Gymnasium in Easton.

Senior Demetre Roberts and redshirt freshman Sean Moore led STAC in scoring with 12 points each. Moore also paced the Spartans on the boards with 11 rebounds in the contest.

Andrew Sims of Stonehill led all scorers in the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Both teams struggled shooting the basketball on Wednesday evening, as STAC shot only 37.7 percent in the game (20-of-53), while Stonehill shot 31.6 percent from the floor (18-of-57).

A back and forth first half saw neither team take a lead bigger than seven points, as Stonehill would hold that advantage (23-16) with just under four minutes to go before the break. STAC would chip away at the deficit and close the gap to four at 25-21 when the teams retreated to their respective locker rooms. Demetre Roberts and Sean Moore lead the way for the Spartans with six points apiece, while Myles Hanson and Josh Mack paced the Skyhawks with six points each through 20 minutes of action.

In the second half, the teams traded buckets to open the first five minutes of the stanza, before a Grant Singleton jumper would put STAC back on top at 30-29. The Spartans would hold a slim margin over Stonehill until a Christopher Melis free-throw evened the game at 35 all. Both squads battled for the advantage on the scoreboard, with the host Skyhawks going up by as many as five points (42-37) with just under nine minutes left to play. However, St. Thomas Aquinas would rally and even the game on two occasions (42-42 and 45-45), before Demetre Roberts would sink the momentum changing bucket with 4:14 remaining in the contest. Roberts would expand the lead to four at 49-45 and the teams would trade layups to put keep STAC head at 51-47. A Josh Mack jumper got Stonehill within two with under 30 seconds to go, but free-throws by Sean Moore and Grant Singleton closed out the scoring and gave St. Thomas Aquinas College a huge 53-49 victory.

Up next, the Spartans host Bloomfield College in another important regional matchup on Saturday, December 4. Opening tip at Aquinas Hall is set for 3pm.