Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team clinched its seventh ECC Regular Season Championship in the last ten seasons, by virtue of a 110-95 victory over Queens College on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium.

As a result of the Spartans capturing the regular season title, they will once again be the hosts for the upcoming ECC Men's Basketball Tournament, which takes place March 9-10 on the Sparkill campus.

STAC improves to 22-5 overall and 13-2 in ECC play, while Queens drops to 12-13 and 6-8.

Prior to the Spartans regular season home finale, the maroon and gold honored its graduating class, as Lawrence Foreman, Vasilis Tolias and Jamal Barnes' collegiate careers were celebrated with on-court ceremonies, which included the athletes' families, teammates, coaches and college administrators.

When the teams got underway, James Patterson led the way for St. Thomas Aquinas with a game-high 29 points, while teammates Ethan Millirons (20 points), Kyle Pulliam (18 points), Rich Smith (10 points) and Shaun Arnold (10 points) also posted double figures in scoring.

STAC shot 49.4 percent (44-89) from the field, while Queens shot 50.7 percent (35-69) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ten Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
• Rich Smith led the maroon and gold with a game-high 12 assists on the afternoon.
• James Patterson hit 11 of his 21 field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Ethan Millirons went 6-for-8 from the floor, with all six shots going in from downtown.
• STAC out-rebounded Queens by a 53-30 margin, with Lawrence Foreman grabbing a game-high seven boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up seven steals, with the Knights turning the ball over on 10 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Queens: Points off Turnovers (16-15), Second Chance Points (28-13), Points in the Paint (56-40) and Bench Points (27-21).
• The game featured eight ties and 11 lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the contest came with just under seven minutes to play in the second half, when the Spartans led by 22 points, 98-76 on a pair of made free throws by James Patterson.
• St. Thomas Aquinas trailed Queens 54-53 at halftime.
• James Patterson led all scorers with 14 first half points for the Spartans, while shooting 45.4 percent (5-of-11) from the field.
• The Spartans posted 50 plus points (53 & 57) in both stanzas of Saturday's game.
• STAC's best shooting half came in the second, when they went 23-of-45 from the floor for 51.1 percent.

QUEENS NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Knights logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Sunnie Diamond led Queens with a team-high 23 points, while teammates Zyeir Lawrence (18pts) and Shamar Chester (17pts) also recorded double-digit point totals.
• Diamond and Chester led the Lions with four assists apiece on the day.
• Sunnie Diamond went 7-for-16 from the floor. Meanwhile, Zyeir Lawrence hit 6 of his 8 shots from the field.
• Malik Bentinck grabbed a six boards for the Knights.
• Queens picked up five steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 11 separate occasions.
• The Knights earned one advantage in the team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Fastbreak Points (16-14)
• Queens had its largest lead of the game (four points) in the middle of the first half at 18-14.
• Sunnie Diamond and Zyeir Lawrence both led the Knights with 13 points in the opening half.
• In a tale of two halves Queens shot a blistering 60.0 percent (21-for-35) from the field in the first half, and cooled off to 41.2 percent (14-of-34) in the second stanza.

UP NEXT:

STAC closes out its 2023-24 regular season schedule at Mercy University on Saturday, March 2. The Spartans and Mavericks will tip-off beginning at 5:00 p.m. inside of the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.