Buffalo, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team earned its sixth ECC Regular Season Championship in the last nine seasons, and the first under Head Coach Matt Capell, by virtue of a 93-71 triumph over D'Youville University on Sunday afternoon at the College Center Gym in downtown Buffalo.

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 now takes place March 4-5 at Aquinas Hall.

STAC improves to 22-4 overall and 13-1 in ECC play, while D'Youville drops to 4-20 and 3-12.

James Patterson led the way for the Spartans, posting 21 points, while teammates Kyle Pulliam (16 points), DeVante Jamison (13 points) and Jamal Barnes (12 points) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 47.9 percent from the field (34-71), while D'Youville shot 34.4 percent (21-61) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• DeVante Jamison led the maroon and gold with five assists on the afternoon.
• James Patterson made 6 of his 16 field goal attempts and 9-of-10 from the foul line, while Kyle Pulliam went 6-for-9 from the floor.
• STAC and D'Youville collected 40 rebounds apiece, with Patterson and Pulliam both grabbing a team-high seven boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 16 steals, with the Saints turning the ball over on 21 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over D'Youville: Points off Turnovers (25-13), Points in the Paint (48-30), Fastbreak Points (27-6) and Bench Points (31-27).
• The game featured one tie.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• James Patterson opened the scoring for the Spartans, earning a pair of free throws just 49 seconds into the contest.
• Tied at 2-2, STAC broke out to a 17-8 lead on the strength of a 15-6 run, as Jamal Barnes, DeVante Jamison, Richard Smith, Luis Risquez, Kyle Pulliam and Patterson connected on their opportunities from the field, from three and from the foul line.
• Six straight points from the Saints cut their deficit to just three at 17-14 with a shade under 10 minutes to play in the first half.
• Ahead 23-16, the Spartans had to deal with a D'Youville team that continued to battle, as the hosts put together a 7-2 run of their own to trail by just two (25-23).
• Luis Risquez's layup and free throw gave the maroon and gold a five-point cushion (28-23).
• James Patterson, DeVante Jamison and Antonio Vendola combined to keep STAC ahead at 36-29, but a 6-0 streak by D'Youville once again cut their margin on the scoreboard, this time to one-point, 36-35 with five seconds to play before the halftime buzzer.
• A Jamal Barnes three-pointer sailed through the net mere moments before the horn to extend the Spartans lead to 39-35 at the break.
• James Patterson paced the Spartans' offense with nine first-half points, while Willie Kondrat led all scorers with 12 points for the Saints.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for second half action, James Patterson would record four of the first six points on a pair of free throws and a jumper to make it 43-37.
• The visitors from Sparkill had an answer for every move made by D'Youville, including a 14-5 run, capped by a Jamal Barnes layup, to hold a 57-42 advantage with 14:03 to play in the contest.
• D'Youville became the beneficiary of a few foul calls charged to the Spartans, which gave the Saints nine points via free throws in the middle portion of the half. STAC's deficit shrunk to seven (61-54) with just under 10 minutes left.
• STAC put together another streak, this time 16-4, to blow the game open at 77-58. Highlighting the offensive explosion were Jamal Barnes, Jordan Green, James Patterson and Kyle Pulliam. Pulliam drained three straight from way downtown to end the run.
• The Spartans maintained double-digit margins down the stretch, with Ethan Millirons giving his team its largest lead of the day (22 points), on a pair of free throws to make it 93-71 with 42 seconds to play. 
• One final turnover by D'Youville put the basketball back in the hands of STAC to close out the contest and take the regular season crown clinching victory.

UP NEXT: 

After five straight on the road, STAC returns to Aquinas Hall for its final home contest of the 2023 Regular Season, facing off with Queens College on Wednesday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m. Senior Night festivities honoring Antonio Vendola will take place prior to the contest between the Spartans and Knights.