The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's basketball team faces off against Daemen College in the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Final at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium in Sparkill at 2:30 pm on Sunday.
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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas - The top-seeded Spartans (25-4, 17-1 ECC) advanced to the ECC Championship game for the eighth time in Coach Tobin Anderson's nine years at the helm. They advanced on the strength of Sean Moore's 18-point performance in Saturday's 84-64 victory over #5 seeded Roberts Wesleyan College College. Four Spartans punctuated the All-Conference awards, with Demetre Roberts (16.0 ppg), and Osbel Caraballo (15.0 ppg) earning First Team honors, Grant Singleton (11.7 ppg) earning Second Team accolades and Jamal Barnes (11.6 ppg) being named to the Third Team. STAC once again prospered at both ends of the floor, standing first in the conference in team scoring (86.9 ppg) and third in defense (72.0 ppg).
The Teams - Daemen - The #2 seeded Wildcats (20-8, 16-2 ECC) buzzed its way to a 85-70 semi-final victory over #3 Molloy College. Four-time ECC Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference standout Andrew Sischo (22.9 ppg, 13.0 rpg), Sean Fasoyiro (12.9 ppg) and Andrew Mason (9.1 ppg) have led the high-powered Daemen squad, which enters play Sunday having won 8 of their last 10 games and 20-of-28 overall. Daemen ranks third in the ECC in scoring (70.7 ppg) and first in team defense (66.9 ppg).
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #7 ranked team in the East per official NCAA rankings. Eight teams from the East will qualify for the 64-team field at the NCAA Division II Tournament, with automatic bids being earned by champions from the ECC, Northeast-10, and Central Atlantic Collegiate conferences, and the other five awarded on an at-large basis.
Season Series (Daemen wins 2-0):
January 21, 2022, Daemen 73, @STAC 61 - The visiting Wildcats had three score in double figures (Kyle Harris - 19pts, Sean Fasoyiro - 15pts and Andrew Sischo - 12pts), snapping the Spartans eight-game win streak with a 73-61 victory. Demetre Roberts posted 18 points for St. Thomas Aquinas, with Osbel Caraballo chipping in 12 points.
February 18, 2022 - STAC 75, @Daemen 70 (OT) - In the series finale at Lumsden Gymnasium, a nip and tuck affair would go to overtime, when a Demetre Roberts late free-throw would send the game into the extra period. In OT, STAC got clutch shooting from DeVante Jamison, Roberts and Grant Singleton to outscore Daemen 18-13 to take a 75-70 triumph. Andrew Sischo poured in 31 points for the Wildcats in a losing effort, while Ryan Salzberg (16pts) and Sean Fasoyiro (13pts) also scored in double figures.
What's Next? - With Daemen and STAC standing as the top two teams in conference entering Sunday's finale, the winner of Sunday's conference tournament final will be crowned the 2022 ECC Men's Basketball Champion and receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The losing team will have to wait and see if the selection committee calls their name, late Sunday night, for an at-large bid among an already crowded field of worthy teams from both the Northeast-10 and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conferences.
2022 EAST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round – Wednesday, March 2 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan 90 at No. 4 Queens 72
7:00 p.m. - No. 6 District of Columbia 69 at No. 3 Molloy 76
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at St. Thomas Aquinas
12:00 p.m. - No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan 64 vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas 84
3:30 p.m. - No. 3 Molloy 70 vs. No. 2 Daemen 85
Final – Sunday, March 6 at St. Thomas Aquinas
2:30 p.m. - #1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. #2 Daemen (PURCHASE TICKETS HERE)
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Saturday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on both the Spartan Sports Network and the ECC Network.
LIVE statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Aquinas Hall or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING & COVID PROTOCOLS
All Games
$8 - General Admission
$4 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Children under 5 free for all games
* Must purchase a ticket to attend semifinal round game on March 6 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. The ECC and Host Institutions will not guarantee that tickets will be available at the door. *
* Current COVID-19 protocols require all fans inside of Aquinas Hall to wear masks (covering both the nose and mouth) at all times. Policies MUST be followed to attend the ECC Tournament. *