Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team won its sixth East Coast Conference Tournament Championship in seven years with a 59-48 victory over Daemen College, in front of a raucous sellout crowd at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.

STAC now stands at 26-4 overall and clinches an automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament - with seedings and matchups being announced later tonight - as the Spartans entered the weekend at No. 7 in the East Regional rankings.

Demetre Roberts paced the STAC offense with 20 points, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Meanwhile, Osbel Caraballo (13 points) also scored in double figures for the maroon and gold. Andrew Sischo led all scorers with 24 points for Daemen. 

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 38.3% percent from the field (23-60), while Daemen shot 33.3 percent (19-57) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• All ten players who participated in the championship contest recorded double-digit minutes.
• Demetre Roberts led the Spartans with four assists on the afternoon.
• Roberts made 7 of his 13 field goal attempts, while Grant Singleton went 4-for-9 from the floor.
• St. Thomas Aquinas out rebounded Daemen 42-40 in 40 minutes of action, with Singleton grabbing a team-high nine boards for the Spartans.
• STAC picked up six steals in the contest, with Daemen turning the ball over on 11 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two team statistical categories over the Wildcats: Points off Turnovers (14-2) and Bench Points (21-6).
• Along with Roberts being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tourney, teammates Osbel Caraballo and Grant Singleton were selected for the All-Tournament team.

BY THE NUMBERS - ECC CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION:

• Of the 33 ECC Men's Basketball Champions crowned since the tournament's inception in 1990, St. Thomas Aquinas stands second in the number of championships won, with 6 (Most - LIU/C.W. Post - 7).
• In STAC's six championship game triumphs, their average margin of victory has been 13.0 points per game.
• The Spartans will have the last three ECC Tournament Most Outstanding Players on their 2022 NCAA Roster: 2022-Demetre Roberts, 2021-Grant Singleton and 2020-Osbel Caraballo.
• STAC's current seven-year streak of NCAA Tournament bids ranks second in East Coast Conference history (Most - Adelphi - 8; 1995-2002).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A battle from the beginning, Daemen would get out to an early 4-3 lead, before the Spartans scored six consecutive points to go up 9-4.
• The Wildcats would get within three at 9-6, moments before the under-16 minute media timeout.
• Back and forth action would ensue with STAC only able to lead by as many as three points, before Daemen would tie the game up at 14 all with just under eight minutes to play in the stanza.
• St. Thomas Aquinas went on a 12-2 run over the next 5:44 to put themselves ahead by 10 at 26-16 with 2:14 left before the break.
• Daemen closed the gap to seven in the final seconds of the half, as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms with STAC leading, 28-21.
• Demetre Roberts led the way for the Spartans in the opening half, posting eight points, while Andrew Sischo registered 12 points for the Wildcats.
• When the teams returned to the court, second half action mirrored the opening 20 minutes of play, with both teams battling as if they were involved in a 12-round heavyweight bout. The sides traded early baskets, before a Ryan Salzberg trey brought Daemen within two at 32-30.
• Solid defense from the visiting Wildcats allowed them to tie the game and take a slim two-point lead (36-34) with just over 10 minutes left to play.
• Both sides would once again hold advantages down the stretch, with the game being tied at 40 all for one minute and twenty six seconds (8:40-7:14), before a Demetre Roberts free-throw gave STAC a one-point lead.
• Following another run by Daemen to tie the game up (42-42), the Spartans broke out to a 54-42 lead on the strength of a 12-0 run, which drained the clock down to the final 2:25 of the contest.
• The Wildcats would desperately try to get themselves back into the game late, but clutch shooting by both Demetre Roberts and Osbel Caraballo, along with lockdown defense by every Spartan who stepped foot on the court in the final moments, propelled STAC to the championship victory.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas awaits its tournament seeding and opponent from the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Committee, which will be announced later this evening (10:30pm) at NCAA.com. The East Region tourney will get underway next weekend at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.