Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team continued its perfect record against conference foes in 2022-2023, with an 84-76 triumph over Molloy University on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.

STAC improves to 17-3 overall and 8-0 in the ECC, while Molloy slips to 7-13 and 6-3.

DeVante Jamison led the way for the Spartans, recording 20 points, while teammates Luis Risquez (19 points), James Paterson (16 points) and Antonio Vendola (10 points) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 46.0 percent from the field (29-63), while Molloy shot 46.2 percent (30-65) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Antonio Vendola led the maroon and gold with three assists on the afternoon.
• DeVante Jamison made 5 of his 12 field goal attempts and 10 of 12 free-throws, while Luis Risquez went 7-for-11 from the floor.
• STAC and Molloy recorded 38 rebounds apiece, with James Patterson grabbing a team-high eight boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 11 steals, with the Lions turning the ball over on 21 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two team statistical categories over Molloy: Points in the Paint (46-44) and Bench Points (32-25).
• The game featured five ties and five lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Molloy opened an early 6-2 lead, before the Spartans evened the score on buckets by James Patterson and Richard Smith with 15:57 to play in the first half.
• An 8-3 run by STAC, over the next three and a half minutes, gave the hosts a five-point advantage at 14-9.
• Back and forth play between the squads had both sides leading and trailing on multiple occasions through the middle portion of the stanza.
• Jamal Barnes' three-pointer with just under seven minutes left in the half, gave St. Thomas Aquinas a six-point advantage, 30-24.
• A Lions trey evened the score at 34 with less than two minutes to play before the break, but STAC would rattle off seven of the final nine points to take a 41-36 lead into the locker room. James Patterson, Luis Risquez and DeVante Jamison provided the scoring necessary to maintain an advantage on the scoreboard through 20 minutes of action.
• DeVante Jamison paced the Spartans offense with 12 first-half points, while Billy Reyes scored 12 points of his own for the Lions.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for the second half, it was the hosts who would go on a 6-2 run to start the stanza and push the margin on the scoreboard to nine, at 47-38.
• Molloy continued to battle and worked their way back to within five (49-44) with 16:19 left to play in the game. 
• A 10-4 run, with Luis Risquez, Kyle Pulliam and DeVante Jamison all contributing to the offense, gave STAC and 11-point advantage (59-48) at the 12-minute media timeout.
• Molloy then spent the next six minutes chipping away at double-digit deficit to square things at 65-65 with 6:24 left to play.
• STAC would make another run, this time 13-2 with key buckets by Luis Risquez, Jamal Barnes, Richard Smith and James Patterson, to balloon the maroon and gold lead back to 11 (78-67) with 1:19 on the clock.
• The Lions tried to climb back into the game in the final minute, getting as close as six points (82-76), but the Spartans continued their workmanlike attitude until the final buzzer, even getting two free-throws by DeVante Jamison in the final seconds to close the scoring and clinch the eight-point win.

UP NEXT:

STAC hosts the University of the District of Columbia in key conference matchup at Aquinas Hall on Wednesday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m.