Brookville, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team earned it's second straight trip to the East Coast Conference championship game with an 80-78 victory over No. 4 seeded LIU Post at the Pratt Center. Chaz Watler posted a game-high 22 points as the top-seeded Spartans rallied from a 10-point deficit with eight minutes to play to improve their record to 21-10 overall, with Post closing the campaign at 17-13.
For the second straight season, St. Thomas Aquinas will square off with the University of Bridgeport in the ECC Championship game, after the No. 2 Purple Knights ousted No. 6 Dowling in a convincing 93-75 victory. The final game will be held on Sunday, March 8, at 2:30 pm at the Pratt Center at LIU Post, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.
Coming off the bye earned as the top seed and regular-season Co-Champions, the Spartans looked fresh at the outset, with Marcus Henderson starting the scoring from beyond the arc and Watler adding a trey to put STAC in an 18-10 lead midway through the first half.
Post would turn up the defense, however, and Dillon Burns capped an 8-0 run to tie the score less than three minutes later. The Pioneers took the lead for the first time at 22-20 on an Isiah Stokely dunk with six minutes left, and extended that lead to as many as seven points before settling for a 41-37 edge at the break.
Jules de Courtenay recorded the first four points after halftime to tie the score, and Shaq McFarlan would later run off five straight points to give the Spartans a 48-45 advantage. Once again, LIU Post would storm ahead, with Jared Hall hitting a three and Devon McMillan adding a bucket to cap an 18-6 run, and put the tournament hosts on top but a 63-54 count with 10 minutes to play.
Greg Dotson's tip in gave Post its largest lead with 8:00 to play at 69-59, and the Pioneers remained on the verge of pulling the upset, holding a 73-65 margin with just under six minutes to go. The foul-filled contest would begin to turn from there, with STAC hitting nine of ten free throws down the stretch while the Pioneeers converted just 3-of-7.
Henderson, Watler and McFarlan each converted two from the stripe to quickly bring the Spartans to within 74-73 with 2:33 to play. Burns answered with a big three-pointer to put Post back up by four, but Alushula Odongo would split a pair from the line, and Justin Reyes would soar to the offensive boards to convert a Watler miss to trim the gap to 77-76 with 52 seconds left.
With time winding down, McFarlan came up with a big steal and found a streaking Watler for the go-ahead layup, putting the top seeds ahead, 78-77 with 23 seconds left. With time winding down, Alushula Odongo fouled Charles McCann, sending the forward to the line with a chance to take the lead with 9.7 seconds remaining. McCann missed both, however, and Justin Reyes made a pair at the other end to make the tally 80-77 with eight seconds left.
The drama was far from over, as STAC intentionally sent Dillon Burns to the line for a pair with four seconds to play. Burns sank the first, and his second shot perfectly caromed off the front iron to a pair of waiting teammates, only to have the play whistled down for a line violation on Post's PJ Torres, ending the Pioneers fleeting last chance at victory.
Despite being outrebounded by a 37-28 gap, STAC made the difference at the foul line, where the Spartans shot 81% (34-42) to just 55% for Post (18-33, including 8-19 in the second half).
McFarlan added 13 points for St. Thomas Aquinas, while Henderson and Reyes added 12 each. Greg Dotson led five Pioneers in double-figures with 14 points, while teammates Burns and Hall chipped in 13 apiece.
Provided by the St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information Department.
