The No. 2 seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team opens the 2024-25 post-season, battling No. 3 seed Queens College on Saturday evening at 7:30 pm at Lumsden Gymnasium on the campus of Daemen University in Amherst, New York.
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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas - The #2 seeded Spartans received a first-round bye and enter tournament play with a record of 22-8 overall, 13-3 in the ECC, looking to win their sixth straight ECC Tournament title and ninth in the last ten seasons. The Spartans highlighted the All-Conference awards, with Shaun Arnold (11.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.0 apg & 2.3 spg) earning Defensive Player of the Year honors and Second Team accolades, while Hartnel Haye (11.9 ppg & 8.1 rpg) took home First Team recognition and both Luis Risquez (11.6 ppg & 6.1 rpg) and Derrick James (10.7 ppg, 4.7 apg & 2.0 spg) scored Second Team kudos. STAC possesses the best offense in the ECC, scoring 86.2 points per game and the fourth best defense, allowing only 77.8 points per contest.
The Teams - Queens College - The #3 seeded Knights (13-16, 8-8) advanced to the semis on the strength of Wednesday's 95-89 home victory over Molloy University. Shamar Chester (ECC Third Team) led the way for the Knights with 31 points and averages 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds & 2.2 assists per game. Nasan Ayala (ECC Third Team - 12.8 ppg, & 5.4 rpg), Damiri Lindo (12.5 ppg & 3.9 rpg) and Jade Tse (9.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg & 3.2 apg) contribute to a lineup that currently ranks eighth in team scoring (71.1 ppg) and second in defense (74.6 ppg) within the ECC.
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #6 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 2-0):
January 18, 2025, @STAC 80, QC 59 - The first meeting between the squads saw the Spartans outscore the Knights 47-26 in the second half to bust open a 33-33 halftime tie in at Aquinas Hall. Luis Risquez led the way for the STAC with 14 points, while Hartnel Haye recorded 11 points and 15 rebounds and Deshawne Crim 11 points. Jade Tse led all scorers with 17 points for Queens, while Shamar Chester (12 points) also scored in double figures.
February 22, 2025 - @QC 68, STAC 75 - In the rematch in Queens, the visitors saw all five starters score in double figures, as Hartnel Haye paced the STAC offense with a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Luis Risquez (15 points & 15 rebounds), Shaun Arnold (13 points & 10 rebounds), Troy'reon Ramos (13 points) and Derrick James (10 points) also scored in double digits for the maroon and gold. Shamar Chester recorded 16 points for the Knights, with Damiri Lindo (14 points), Nasan Ayala (12 points) and Jaden Pena (11 points) all making major contributions to hosts totals as well.
1,000-Point Watch - Spartans senior Luis Risquez enters the postseason with 978 career points and could possibly eclipse the 1,000-point mark this weekend.
What's Next? - The winner of this game will advance to the ECC Tournament Final on Sunday, March 9, at 3:30 pm at Lumsden Gymnasium. They will take on the winner of the Saturday 5:00 pm semifinal between #1 Daemen University and #5 College of Staten Island. Like STAC, Daemen earned a bye into the semis, while Staten Island advanced with a 81-75 road victory over Roberts Wesleyan University on Wednesday night.
2025 EAST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round – Wednesday, March 5 at No. 3 and No. 4 seeds
7:00 PM - No. 6 Molloy 89, No. 3 Queens 95
7:00 PM - No. 5 Staten Island 81, No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan 75
Semifinals – Saturday, March 8 at Daemen (Amherst, N.Y.)
5:00 PM - No. 5 Staten Island vs. No. 1 Daemen
7:30 PM - No. 3 Queens vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas
Final – Sunday, March 10 at Daemen (Amherst, N.Y.)
3:30 PM - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Saturday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on the ECC Network.
Live statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Lumsden Gymnasium or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING
All Games
$12 - Chairback Seats
$10 - General Admission
$5 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children
* Must purchase separate tickets to attend both semifinal games on March 8 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. No cash accepted on site. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. All ticket sales are for single games only. In addition, the gymnasium will be cleared between each contest. *
* All Ticket Sales Are Final - NO REFUNDS *