Sparkill, N.Y. - Despite a late rally attempt by Jefferson University, the #21 NABC ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team held on to secure a 72-69 victory over the visiting Rams on Wednesday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.

STAC opens the new year, improving to 13-2 overall, while Jefferson slips to 7-7.

Antonio Vendola led the Spartans with 16 points, while teammates James Patterson (14 points) and Kyle Jones (12 points) also scored in double-figures.

STAC shot 48.4 percent from the field (31-64), while Jefferson shot 41.0 percent (25-61) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ten Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• DeVante Jamison and Jamal Barnes led the maroon and gold with two assists apiece on the day.
• Antonio Vendola made 6 of his 10 field goal attempts, while James Patterson went 7-for-16 from the floor.
• STAC out rebounded Jefferson 39-33, with Patterson grabbing team-high seven boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 10 steals, with the Rams turning the ball over on 18 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Jefferson: Second Chance Points (16-10), Points in the Paint (50-20), Fastbreak Points (10-2) and Bench Points (30-9).
• The game featured four ties and two lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Antonio Vendola start the scoring with a trey in the opening moments of the contest and following a Jefferson basket, STAC built a five-point lead (7-2) via a pair of buckets by James Patterson.
• Following an early timeout by the Rams, battled back to tie the score at 7-7, but another Vendola three gave the Spartans back the lead at 10-7.
• Trailing 13-12, St. Thomas Aquinas rattled off six straight points to pull ahead, 18-13.
• Back and forth action kept things close between the teams, but STAC expanded its lead by as much as 10 points (34-24) with just a tick under two minutes left in the first half.
• The sides trade baskets in the final minute plus of action to make it a nine-point advantage (36-27) for the hosts in maroon and gold at the break.
• James Patterson and Antonio Vendola paced the Spartans offense with eight first-half points apiece, while Erik Timko led all scorers with nine points for the Rams.
• Following the intermission, both squads traded buckets to keep the margin at nine points, 38-29. However, a 7-0 run by Jefferson brought them back within two (38-36) with just over 16 minutes left to play.
• Then a 6-0 streak by the Spartans, courtesy of Kyle Jones, Jamal Barnes and Richard Smith increased the STAC lead back to eight, at 44-36.
• See-saw action saw the visiting Rams cut their deficit to five (48-43) with a 12 minutes to go in regulation.
• An 8-4 run by STAC, with James Patterson, Kyle Pulliam, Kyle Jones leading the way, expanded the hosts lead to nine points (56-47) at the eight minute media timeout.
• Another surge by the Spartans over the next four minutes gave the maroon and gold its largest lead of the afternoon (12 points), 64-52.
• Down the stretch, Jefferson put on a rally attempt, scoring eight straight points to bring the margin to just four, at 64-60 with a minute to play in the game.
• Despite the Spartans getting a layup from Kyle Jones and making six free throws, courtesy of DeVante Jamison and Antonio Vendola in the final seconds, Jefferson continued to push the play in the hopes of pulling even, as Erik Timko was on a mission, recording seven points of his own to make sure the visitors had one more chance force overtime.
• Following a final timeout, Jefferson inbounded the basketball, looking for a tying trey, but Jordan Green would swipe the rock from the opponents and run the clock to triple zeros to secure the three-point triumph.

UP NEXT: 

STAC returns to East Coast Conference play, hosting Roberts Wesleyan University on Sunday, January 8 (3:00 p.m.) at Aquinas Hall.