Sparkill, N.Y. - St. Thomas Aquinas College's Hartnel Haye led the way against his former team on Wednesday evening, recording 15 points, as the host Spartans downed the University of the District of Columbia, 97-73 at Aquinas Hall.

STAC improves to 10-6 overall and 2-2 in ECC action, while UDC slips to 3-9 and 1-3.

The aforementioned Haye, who played three seasons with the Firebirds (2021-24), decided to bring his talents to the Lower Hudson Valley for his graduate year and has been a significant contributor on both sides of the basketball for the Spartans through their first 16 games.

In the mid-week conference matchup, Hartnel tallied a team-high 15 points while teammates Shaun Arnold (14 points), Luis Risquez (12 points) and Tyshon Judge (11 points) also factored in STAC's totals with each scoring in double figures. Meanwhile, Greg Williams led all scorers posting a game-high 18 points for the Firebirds.

STAC shot 48.1 percent from the field (37-77), while UDC shot 45.9 percent (28-61) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ten Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the conference contest. 
• Derrick James led the maroon and gold with six assists on the night.
• Hartnel Haye hit 7 of his 12 field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Shaun Arnold went 6-of-13 from the floor, with two of his four shots hitting the mark from distance.
• STAC out-rebounded District of Columbia by a 42-28 margin, with Haye and Arnold grabbing a game-high eight boards apiece for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas swiped 12 steals, with the Firebirds turning the ball over on 26 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over UDC: Points off Turnovers (29-13), Second Chance Points (23-4), Points in the Paint (46-34) and Bench Points (45-34).
• The game featured no ties and five lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the game came with just over four minutes to play in contest, when Spartans led by 26 points, 86-60, on a Tommy Kelly jump shot.
• St. Thomas Aquinas held a 47-37 advantage going into the halftime locker room.
• Tyshon Judge led all Spartans scorers with 10 first half points, while shooting 60.0 percent (5-of-9) from the floor.
• STAC's best shooting half came in the opening stanza, with the maroon and gold hitting 18 of its 42 total shots for a 42.9 field goal percentage.

 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Firebirds logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Greg Williams led UDC with 18 points. Teammates Mikhai Arnold (14 points), Charles Holley, Jr. (11 points) and Tevin Curtis (10 points) also scored in double figures.
• Curtis also led District of Columbia with four assists on the evening.
• Williams went 6-for-10 from the floor, 4-of-6 from three and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, with Arnold hitting 6 of his 9 shots.
• Gene Anderson grabbed a team-high seven boards for the Firebirds.
• UDC picked up eight steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 15 separate occasions.
• The Firebirds earned one team statistical category advantage over St. Thomas Aquinas: Fastbreak Points (12-4).
• UDC's largest lead of the contest (three points) came in the early moments of Wednesday's contest, when the Firebirds took a 3-0 lead on a Greg Williams three-point jumper.
• Greg Williams led all Firebirds scorers with 10 first half points, while shooting 80.0 percent (4-for-5) from the field and 67.0 percent (2-of-3) from beyond the arc.
• While shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from distance in the first half, District of Columbia still trailed the Spartans by 10 points and was then outscored 50-36 in the second stanza.

UP NEXT: 

STAC looks to keep its winning ways going when they visit the College of Staten Island on Saturday, January 11. The Spartans and Dolphins are set to square off at 3:00 p.m. inside of the CSI Sports and Recreation Center.