The final Western New York Weekend opened with one team solidifying its position at the top of the ladder and another inching closer to the playoff chase:
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 85 DAEMEN 78
Justin Reyes led five players in double figures with 18 points and six rebounds as St. Thomas Aquinas stunned Daemen in Buffalo to move a half-game ahead of idle Bridgeport for first place in the East Coast Conference. A tight contest most of the way, as underscored by nine ties and 10 lead changes, the Spartans announced their presence with a 15-0 run over a nearly six-minute span in the first half to flip a 27-18 deficit into a 33-27 lead. The Wildcats responded and took a 38-37 lead into the locker room thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Supreme Hannah (17 points, eight assists in 40 minutes). STAC - which also received 16 points (7-10 FG) and seven helpers from Chaz Watler - used an 8-1 second-half spurt to open up a 65-57 lead with 8:46 to play, and increased it to 75-66 after a 3-ball by Marcus Henderson (11 points) at the 4:27 mark. The hosts then rattled off the next eight points to creep within 75-74, thanks largely to Jordan Greene - who matched a career high with 28 points (8-13 FG, 5-9 from deep), including the 1,000th of his career - as he capped the run with back-to-back triples. His team would get no closer, however, as Jules de Courtenay converted a huge "And-1" and Reyes sank a pair of free throws with 1:09 left to provide an 80-74 cushion that never dipped below four points in the waning seeconds. Sam Berlin registered 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and James Mitchell chipped in with 10 off the bench for St. Thomas, which becomes the first ECC team to sweep Daemen in a season series. Gerald Beverly posted 13 points (6-7 FG), nine rebounds and two blocked shots for the Wildcats, who lost despite outshooting (56%-53%) and outrebounding (27-26) its guests, nearly doubling them from beyond the arc (11-24 to 6-18). Turnovers proved their undoing as STAC used an 18-8 edge in miscues to fuel a 32-13 scoring boon. Daemen - sitting comfortably in third place - has now dropped back-to-back conference games for the first time since December of 2013.
ROBERTS WESLEYAN 58 MERCY 54
Just down the Thruway in Rochester, Isaac Medeiros produced a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while being flanked by Marcus Gooding (14 points, six rebounds) and Kevin Madiamba (12 points, two blocks) as Roberts Wesleyan held off Mercy to keep its playoff hopes alive. An 18-4 burst at the start of the second half transformed a 26-25 Mercy lead into a 43-30 Roberts advantage after a Gooding trey with 12:35 remaining. But the Mavericks didn't fold up their tents, orchestrating a 22-10 counter-run to inch within 53-52 following a long jumper from Najee Senior (four points and assists off the bench) with 1:56 to go. Tyrel Dixon (six points, seven rebounds) answered with a driving lay-up off a high-post feed with 50 seconds on the clock to supply the Redhawks with a little breathing room. Jason Quijada - who paced the Mavs with 16 points without taking a breather - attempted a tying three from the left wing but it rimmed out (he had been 4-for-6 from deep before that). Gooding and Senior exchanged a pair of foul shots before Dixon converted the damaging toss with 17 seconds to play, closing out the scoring and moving Roberts within two games of the final playoff spot. Lazaro Martinez and Gerald McClease (15 rebounds in 40 minutes) each logged 15 points for Mercy, which made twice as many 3-pointers (6-15 to 3-14) but was nearly doubled at the stripe (15-20 to 8-10) and outscored 13-0 on second chances in dropping its sixth straight. Both clubs were as cold as the minus-one game-time temperature, with the Redhawks shooting 37% and the Mavericks 33%.