Rockville Centre, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team wrapped up its 2022-23 regular season schedule, cruising to a 94-70 road victory over Molloy University on Saturday afternoon at Quealy Gymnasium.

STAC improves to 24-4 overall and 15-1 in ECC play, while Molloy slips to 11-17 and 10-6.

Six Spartans scored in double figures with Luis Risquez leading the way, posting 17 points. Meanwhile, teammates James Patterson (16 points), Antonio Vendola (14 points), Kyle Pulliam (14 points), DeVante Jamison (13 points) and Jamal Barnes (11 points) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 43.1 percent from the field (31-72) and 46.7 percent from three (14-30), while Molloy shot 43.5 percent (30-69) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• DeVante Jamison led the maroon and gold with 11 assists on the afternoon.
• Luis Risquez made 6 of his 9 field goal attempts, while James Patterson went 6-for-11 from the floor.
• STAC outrebounded Molloy 45-38, with DeVante Jamison and Kyle Pulliam both grabbing a team-high eight boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 14 steals, with the Lions turning the ball over on 18 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over Molloy: Points off Turnovers (22-9), Second Chance Points (14-6) and Bench Points (38-10).
• The game featured three ties and five lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After allowing the first points of the game to the Lions, STAC scored six straight points on the strength of threes from James Patterson and DeVante Jamison to make it 6-2.
• Eight straight points by the hosts gave them back the lead, 10-6.
• The teams traded baskets and flipped the scoreboard on on several occasions over a five minute span.
• An 8-0 run by the Spartans, courtesy of Luis Risquez, Lawrence Foreman and James Patterson put them ahead 25-19 with just over eight minutes to play before halftime.
• STAC continued to maintain its lead despite Molloy cutting into its deficits to only trail by two points (28-26) with just over four and a half minutes left in the stanza.
• A 22-10 streak by the Spartans, which was led by Kyle Pulliam, Antonio Vendola, Luis Risquez, DeVante Jamison, put the visitors ahead 50-36 at the break. Pulliam, Vendola and Risquez went 5-for-6 from downtown to help bump the STAC lead to double-digits.
• Luis Risquez paced the Spartans' offense with 13 first-half points, while William Muller led all scorers with 15 points for the Lions.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for second-half action, would continue to push its offensive game, going on a 9-4 run over a four minute span that was culminated by a Kyle Pulliam dunk to make it 59-40 and force Molloy to call a timeout.
• Three free throws by James Patterson brought the the scoreboard to 69-47 with 12 and a half minutes left in regulation.
• STAC continued to lead by double-digit margins throughout the rest of the second half, continuing to match Molloy's attempts at a rally.
• The Spartans hit the 90-point plateau for the 11th time this season on Luis Risquez jumper with 2:19 to play and reached its largest lead of the game (24 points) when Risquez sank a pair of free throws to make it 94-70, which would be the final outcome.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College has earned a bye into the semifinal round of the ECC Men's Basketball Tournament, which will be held at Aquinas Hall Gym, next Saturday, March 4. Opponents for both top-seeded STAC and #2 Daemen will be determined on Wednesday evening, March 1 via the tournament's first round games.

ECC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

First Round - Wednesday, March 1 (at Higher Seeds)

#3 Molloy University (11-17) vs. #6 Roberts Wesleyan University (9-15) - 7:00 p.m.

#4 University of the District of Columbia (12-13) vs. #5 College of Staten Island (9-18) - 7:00 p.m.

Semifinal Round - Saturday, March 4 (at St. Thomas Aquinas College)

#1 St. Thomas Aquinas College (24-4) vs. Winner of District of Columbia vs. Staten Island - 12:00 p.m.

#2 Daemen University (19-7) vs. Winner of Molloy/Roberts Wesleyan - 3:00 p.m.

Final Round - Sunday, March 5 (at St. Thomas Aquinas College)

TBA vs. TBA - 2:30 p.m.

*TICKETS FOR ALL ECC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GAMES WILL GO ON SALE BEGINNING NEXT WEEK*