Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team won its fifth straight East Coast Conference Tournament Championship, and eighth title in the last nine years, with a 77-66 victory over Daemen University, in front of a raucous sellout crowd at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.

STAC now stands at 25-5 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. 2 in the East Regional rankings. Daemen slips to 24-8 and awaits the decision makers within the men's basketball selection committee to call their name as one of the five at-large bid squads.

Kyle Pulliam led the STAC offense with 21 points, while James Patterson (19 points) also scored in double-figures for the maroon and gold. Dylan Fasoyiro paced Daemen's scoring with 21 points on the afternoon. 

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 37.1% percent from the field (26-70) and 80.0 percent from the foul line (16-20), while Daemen shot 38.5 percent (25-65) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
• Rich Smith and Jamal Barnes led the maroon and gold with three assists on the afternoon.
• Kyle Pulliam hit 8 of his 18 field goal attempts, while also going 2-of-2 from the foul line. Meanwhile, James Patterson went 5-for-13 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
• STAC out-rebounded Daemen by a 52-40 margin, with Lawrence Foreman and Luis Risquez both grabbing a game-high 11 boards apiece for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 10 steals, with the Wildcats turning the ball over on 11 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Daemen: Points off Turnovers (19-10), Second Chance Points (27-13), Bench Points (26-14) and Fastbreak Points (10-6).
• The game featured three ties and four lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the contest came with just over nine minutes to play in the second half, when the Spartans led by 19 points, 66-47 on made layup by Luis Risquez.
• St. Thomas Aquinas led Daemen 35-29 at the half and shot 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from the field.
• Kyle Pulliam led all scorers with 11 first half points for the Spartans, while shooting 66.6 percent (4-of-6) from the field.
• The Spartans outscored the Wildcats 42-37 in the second stanza to close out the finals victory.
• Kyle Pulliam was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tourney, while teammates Rich Smith and James Patterson were selected to the All-Tournament team.

DAEMEN NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven Wildcats logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Dylan Fasoyiro led Daemen with 21 points. Teammates Joey Atkins, Nick MacDonald and Zach Philipkoski recorded nine points apiece.
• Joey Atkins led Daemen with five assists on the day.
• Fasoyiro went 7-for-17 from the floor, with both Nick MacDonald and Zach Philopkoski hit 4 of their 8 field goal attempts.
• Atkins also grabbed eight boards for the Wildcats.
• Daemen picked up six steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 12 separate occasions.
• Daemen's largest lead of the contest came with 8:50 to play in the opening half, when the visitors took a 19-14 advantage on a Zach Philipkoski made jumper.
• Nick MacDonald led the Wildcats with seven first half points, while shooting 60.0 percent (3-for-5) from the field.
• Joey Atkins and Dylan Fasoyiro were also named to the All-Tournament team.

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 (11:00pm) at NCAA.com. The East Region tourney will get underway next weekend (March 16-19) at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont.