There were a couple of Friday night games in the ECC, and the two produced almost identical final scores. We commence the recap with a battle of heavyweights in the Empire State:
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 75 DAEMEN 60
Demetre Roberts garnered 15 of his 18 points after intermission, including four straight free throws and a lay-up at the head of a critical 12-0 run that propelled St. Thomas Aquinas past #13 Daemen at Aquinas Hall for its fourth straight win, inching within a game of first and half-game of idle Molloy for second. A sluggish start saw the Spartans trailing 22-11 with under nine minutes to play in the half before they rattled off 14 of the next 15 points to nose in front, 25-23, on a lay-up by Sekou Cisse (17 points, seven rebounds). Aquinas maintained the advantage at the break (36-33), then held its guests without a basket over the initial 6:04 of the second half, stretching the margin to 59-46 with just over nine minutes left. A 9-2 spurt by the first-place Wildcats – culminating in an Andrew Sischo lay-up at the five-minute mark – brought them within 61-55, but a backcourt steal led to an offensive foul, and STAC unleashed 12 unanswered points (including 10-for-10 at the stripe) – the first half of them by Roberts as the lead ballooned to a commanding 73-55 with 1:19 remaining. Kevin Lynch racked up 12 points (6-9 FG) and 12 rebounds for the winners, who also received an efficient 11 bench points (5-6 FG) from backup sophomore guard Louis Griffith. Andrew Sischo was the lone double-figure scorer for Daemen with 15 points and 12 boards as his team saw the end of a 10-game winning streak and 14-game ECC road win streak dating back to an 82-74 setback at Bridgeport on December 17, 2017. The Spartans won the game thanks to superior shooting (50%-36%) and a 27-15 advantage in turnover points in a game that was diminished by 43 miscues (25 by DC) and 42 fouls. Neither team could find the range from beyond the arc (STAC 5-23, DC 2-18).
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 76 ROBERTS WESLEYAN 61
Down the road in Washington, District of Columbia knocked off Roberts Wesleyan to move a half-game ahead of Queens for the sixth and final playoff spot. Zachary Olukanni registered 20 points (7-12 FG), nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Firebirds, who were clinging to a 45-40 lead just under four minutes into the second period before embarking on an 11-2 spurt, expanding their advantage to 56-42. The Redhawks - who are now tied with Bridgeport for fourth - chipped away and closed within 65-57 following a foul shot by Jean Toussaint (15 points, nine rebounds) with 3:30 to go, but Olukanni responded with a lay-up of his own four seconds later to initiate a 9-2 flurry that put the game out of reach at 74-59 with 1:07 on the clock. Danny Shand totaled 16 points off the bench for UDC, which feasted on turnovers to a tune of 25-10, helping offset a 41-35 discrepancy on the glass. Michael Bush and Reggie Clark (4-5 from deep) each netted 11 in defeat for Roberts, which saw its four-game win streak go by the boards.