The No. 2 seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team faces off against No. 1 seed and hosts Daemen University in the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Final at Lumsden Gymnasium in Amherst, New York at 3:30 pm on Sunday.

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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketball Championship Central

The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas - The #2 seeded Spartans (23-8, 13-3 ECC) advanced to the ECC Championship game for the sixth consecutive year and third under Head Coach Matt Capell. They advanced on the strength of Luis Risquez's 24-point performance in Saturday's 91-82 victory over #3 seeded Queens College. The Spartans highlighted the All-Conference awards, with Shaun Arnold (11.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg & 2.3 spg) earning Defensive Player of the Year honors and Second Team accolades, while Hartnel Haye (11.7 ppg & 7.9 rpg) took home First Team recognition and both Luis Risquez (12.0 ppg & 6.2 rpg) and Derrick James (10.8 ppg, 4.7 apg & 2.0 spg) scored Second Team kudos. STAC possesses the best offense in the ECC, scoring 86.3 points per game and the fourth best defense, allowing only 77.9 points per contest.

The Teams - Daemen - The #1 seeded and undefeated Wildcats (26-0, 16-0 ECC) buzzed its way to a 90-57 semifinal victory over #5 College of Staten Island. Andrew Mason led the way for Daemen with 14 points and averages 9.2 points per game. Benjamin Bill (ECC Player of the Year/First Team - 16.6 ppg & 7.3 rpg), Justin Hemphill (ECC First Team - 12.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg & 3.9 apg), Zach Philipkoski (ECC Third Team - 10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg & 3.1 apg) and Justin Glover (ECC Second Team - 9.3 ppg & 2.0 rpg) contribute to a deep lineup as the Wildcats currently rank second in team scoring (85.1 ppg) and first in defense (62.2 ppg).

NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #6 ranked team, while Daemen holds the top position 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 (Daemen 2-0):

December 13, 2024, @Daemen 84, STAC 55 - Daemen led from start to finish in the first matchup at Lumsden Gymnasium. Justin Glover led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, while Zach Philipkoski (12 points), Ryan Heath (11 points) and Andrew Mason (10 points) also scored in double figures. Troy'reon Ramos paced the STAC offense with 14 points, as teammate Hartnel Haye (11 points) also posted double-digit point totals.

February 7, 2025 - Daemen 65, @STAC 54 - In the series finale at Aquinas Hall, STAC played a much closer game with the Wildcats, however the result remained the same. Zach Philipkoski led the visitors with a game-high 15 points, while Justin Hemphill (12 points & 12 rebounds) and Benjamin Bill (10 points) helped add to the totals scoreboard for the Wildcats. Meanwhile, Deshawne Crim recorded a team-high 11 points for the Spartans.

What's Next? - With Daemen and STAC standing as the final two teams in the conference entering Sunday's finale, the winner of Sunday's conference tournament final will be crowned the 2024 ECC Men's Basketball Champion and receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The losing team will have to wait for the selection committee to call their name, late Sunday night, for an at-large bid among a crowded field of worthy teams from both the Northeast-10 and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conferences.