Rockville Centre, N.Y. - Leading by just two points at halftime on Wednesday evening, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team went on a second half scoring barrage en route to their fourth straight victory, a 104-83 rout of Molloy University at Quealy Gymnasium on Long Island.

STAC improves to 19-8 overall and 11-3 in ECC play, while Molloy falls to 8-16 and 4-9.

Derrick James recorded a team-high 21-point effort for the maroon and gold, while teammates Hartnel Haye (16 points), Shaun Arnold (15 points), Jordan Green (14 points) and Deshawne Crim (13 points) also factored in the Spartans' totals with each scoring in double figures. Meanwhile, Rob Matos led the host Lions in scoring, tallying a game-high 30 points.

STAC shot 50.0 percent from the field (39-78), while Molloy shot 50.9 percent (28-55) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the conference contest. 
• Derrick James and Hartnel Haye led the maroon and gold with three assists apiece on the night.
• James hit 9 of his 12 field goal attempts, with two shots sailing through the nets from long range. Meanwhile, Haye went 7-of-11 from the floor.
• STAC out-rebounded Molloy by a 40-31 margin, with Hartnel Haye grabbing a team-high seven boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas swiped 12 steals, with the Lions turning the ball over on 21 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in five team statistical categories over Molloy: Points off Turnovers (28-6), Second Chance Points (16-9), Points in the Paint (62-38), Fastbreak Points (14-7) and Bench Points (34-12).
• The game featured six ties and four lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the game came with just under two and a half minutes to play in the contest, when Spartans led by 22 points, 100-78, on a Jordan Green tip-in bucket.
• St. Thomas Aquinas held a 46-44 advantage going into the halftime locker room and shot 54.1 percent (20-37) from the field.
• Hartnel Haye led all Spartans scorers with 12 first half points, while shooting 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the floor.
• While only leading by two points at the half, STAC came out of the locker room and made their shots count, outscoring Molloy 58-39 in the frame.
• St. Thomas Aquinas is now 41-17 in games against Molloy College/University going back to the 1994-95 season. STAC is also now 14-0 against the Lions dating back to January of 2020.

MOLLOY NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven Lions logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Rob Matos led Molloy with 30 points, while Bryce Merchant (21 points) and Payton Shumpert (12 points) also scored in double figures.
• Merchant and Joshua Malcom led Molloy with four assists each on the evening.
• Matos went 10-for-18 from the floor, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 8-of-11 from the foul line. Merchant shot 9-of-14 from the field.
• Matt Lane grabbed a game-high eight boards for the Lions.
• Molloy picked up two steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on seven separate occasions.
• Rob Matos led all scorers with 14 first half points for the Lions, while shooting 50.0 percent (5-for-10) from the field. 

UP NEXT: 

STAC visits Queens College on Saturday, February 22. The Spartans and Knights will square off in ECC action beginning at 3:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Gymnasium in Queens, New York.