Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team advanced to its fourth straight ECC Final, and ninth in the last ten years, on Saturday afternoon with a 96-78 triumph over the University of the District of Columbia in the semifinal round of the conference tournament, held at Aquinas Hall Gym on the STAC campus.
With the victory, the top-seeded Spartans improve to 25-4 on the season and will play in front of their home fans on Championship Sunday. Meanwhile, UDC concludes its campaign with a 13-14 record.
Four Spartans scored in double figures with Jamal Barnes leading the way, posting 21 points. Teammates DeVante Jamison (18 points & 10 assists), Kyle Pulliam (14 points) and James Patterson (12 points) also recorded double-digit point totals.
STAC shot 50.0 percent from the field (35-70) and 46.4 percent from three (13-28), while UDC shot 45.0 percent (27-60) from the floor.
STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:
- Ten Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest.
- DeVante Jamison led the maroon and gold with 10 assists on the afternoon.
- Jamal Barnes made 7 of his 9 field goal attempts, with six coming from downtown. Jamison went 8-for-13 from the floor.
- STAC outrebounded UDC 38-31, with Jordan Green, DeVante Jamison, Jamal Barnes and Richard Smith all pulling down five boards for the Spartans.
- St. Thomas Aquinas picked up eight steals, with the Firebirds turning the ball over on 18 separate occasions.
- The Spartans earned advantages in five team statistical categories over District of Columbia: Points off Turnovers (18-12), Second Chance Points (13-9), Points in the Paint (38-24), Fastbreak Points (17-11) and Bench Points (38-17).
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- STAC opened the scoring with four straight points via a Jordan Green free throw and DeVante Jamison trey.
- An 8-2 run by the maroon and gold put the Spartans up 12-3 just three minutes into the game.
- Jamison's layup with 15:23 to play in the first half gave the hosts a 20-8 lead.
- Seven straight points by UDC cut their deficit to three, 27-24.
- The teams continued to battle through the middle portion of the stanza, the Spartans scoring seven of the next nine points to lead 34-26. However following a UDC timeout, they rallied back to score six straight points to trail by just two (34-32) with six minutes remaning before halftime.
- St. Thomas Aquinas closed out the half with 10 straight points of their own, as Vasilis Tolias, DeVante Jamison and Luis Risquez knocked down shots over the final 4:36 of first-half action to put the hosts ahead on the scoreboard, 44-32 at the break.
- DeVante Jamison led all scorers with 15 first-half points for the Spartans, while Hartnel Haye paced the Firebirds' offense with 11 points.
- When the teams returned to the hardwood for the second half, UDC would get the first points courtesy of free throws, before a 6-0 run by the maroon and gold made it a 50-34 game.
- Jamal Barnes and Kyle Pulliam connected from downtown on three-straight trips down the floor to STAC ahead by double-digits at 59-41.
- A 14-6 streak by the Spartans with Richard Smith, Ethan Millirons, Luis Risquez, DeVante Jamison and Jamal Barnes all firing shots through the net to blow the game open, 73-47 with a shade under 11 minutes to play in regulation.
- With the game well in hand, St. Thomas Aquinas hit the 90-point mark for the 12th time this season on another Jordan Green slam to make it 91-66 with four minutes left.
- UDC made one last run, outscoring the Spartans 12-5 down the stretch, but the Spartans ran time off the clock with their offensive possessions to keep the game in hand and take the 18-point victory.
UP NEXT:
STAC takes on the No. 2 seed from Daemen University in the ECC Tournament Championship (March 5) at Aquinas Hall in Sparkill. Opening tip between the Spartans and Wildcats is set for 2:30 p.m.
Provided by the St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information Department.
