The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team opens the 2021-22 post-season, hosting #5 seed Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 pm at Aquinas Hall Gym in Sparkill.
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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas - The ECC Regular Season Champion and top seeded Spartans received a first-round bye and enter tournament play with a record of 24-4 overall, 17-1 in the ECC, looking to win its third straight ECC Tournament title. Four Spartans punctuated the All-Conference awards, with Demetre Roberts (16.1 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Osbel Caraballo (15.3 ppg & 5.9 rpg) taking First Team honors, Grant Singleton (11.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg & 3.4 apg) scoring a Second Team selection and Jamal Barnes (11.7 ppg & 3.3 rpg) named to the Third Team. STAC once again prospered at both ends of the floor, standing first in the conference in team scoring (87.0) and third in defense (72.3).
The Teams - Roberts Wesleyan - The #5 seeded Redhawks (12-12, 9-9) advanced to the semis on the strength of Wednesday's 90-72 road victory over Queens. Ja'Kair Harris led the way for Roberts Wesleyan with 25 points and averages a team-high 15.5 points per game. Rian Carter (13.5 ppg), Fope Okuyiga (12.8 ppg) and Shane Fanning (12.0 ppg), Amari Lee (11.8 ppg) and Abou Gbane (10.8 ppg) contribute to a deep lineup as the Redhawks currently rank second in team scoring (85.8) and ninth in defense (85.5).
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #7 ranked team in the East per official NCAA rankings. 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.
Season Series (STAC wins 2-0):
December 19, 2021, @STAC 94, Roberts Wesleyan 87 - The first meeting of these squads saw the Spartans hold off a late charge by Roberts Wesleyan and a 26-point performance from Ja'Kair Sanchez, with Fope Okuyiga adding 20. The winning recipe was balanced scoring, as four of the five STAC starters registered double-figures, led by Demetre Roberts (22 pts), with Osbel Caraballo registering 17 points and Jerrel Kelly and Antonio Vendola chipping in 13 each.
January 29, 2022 - STAC 86, @Roberts Wesleyan 81 - In the rematch in Rochester, the hosts put on another furious second half rally, only trailing by three (84-81) with 10 seconds left to play. However, a pair of Antonio Vendola free-throws would extend the Spartans lead back to five and be enough to give STAC the victory. Kevon Wright posted 14 points, with Rian Carter picking up 13. Ja'Kair Sanchez and Shane Fanning rounded out the Redhawks scoring with 12 apiece. Osbel Caraballo paced the Spartans with a game-high 25 points, as Roberts (12), Kelly (12), and Jamal Barnes (11) also helped STAC to victory, sweeping the season series.
What's Next? - The winner of this game will advance to the ECC Tournament Final on Sunday, March 6, at 2:30 pm at Aquinas Hall. They will take on the winner of the Saturday 3:30 pm semi-final between #2 Daemen and #3 Molloy. Like STAC, Daemen earned a bye into the semis, while Molloy advanced with a 76-69 home victory over the University of the District of Columbia on Wednesday night.
2022 EAST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round – Wednesday, March 2 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan 90 at No. 4 Queens 72
7:00 p.m. - No. 6 District of Columbia 69 at No. 3 Molloy 76
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at St. Thomas Aquinas
12:00 p.m. - No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (PURCHASE TICKETS HERE)
3:30 p.m. - No. 3 Molloy vs. No. 2 Daemen
Final – Sunday, March 6 at St. Thomas Aquinas
2:30 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Saturday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on both the Spartan Sports Network and the ECC Network.
LIVE statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Aquinas Hall or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING & COVID PROTOCOLS
All Games
$8 - General Admission
$4 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Children under 5 free for all games
* Must purchase a ticket to attend semifinal round game on March 5 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. The ECC and Host Institutions will not guarantee that tickets will be available at the door. *
* Current COVID-19 protocols require all fans inside of Aquinas Hall to wear masks (covering both the nose and mouth) at all times. Policies MUST be followed to attend the ECC Tournament. *