AMHERST, N.Y. – Freshman Justin Reyes (Haverhill, Mass.) netted 18 points and sophomore Chaz Watler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 16 points and seven assists to lead St. Thomas Aquinas College to an 85-78 victory over Daemen College here tonight in East Coast Conference men's basketball action.
Daemen, which has now suffered back-to-back conference losses for the first time since December of 2013, dropped to 16-8 overall and 11-5 in the ECC. St. Thomas Aquinas is now 17-10 overall and 14-3 in the league and moved a half game ahead of the University of Bridgeport atop the ECC standings.
Senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) paced a depleted Daemen lineup, as he drilled five three-pointers for the third-straight game and equaled his career-high with 28 points. Greene, who also scored his 1,000th career point during the game, also totaled six rebounds and four assists. He has now registered at least one triple in 35-straight games. Junior Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) added 17 points and eight assists, while senior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. He has now scored in double figures in 54-straight games. Sophomore Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) made his first career start and went 3-for-3 from downtown and totaled nine points and four rebounds.
Daemen was once again without the services of starters Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) and Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) due to injury. Dyck was averaging 19.3 points before the injury.
The first seven minutes of the game featured five ties and STAC held a 14-12 lead when back-to-back buckets by Greene sparked the Wildcats on a 15-4 run. A layup by Beverly with just over eight minutes left in the half capped the run and gave the hosts a 27-18 lead. The Wildcats would then go scoreless for nearly six minutes and the Spartans took advantage with 15 unanswered points. A jumper by Watler with 3:19 left in the half capped the spurt and gave the Spartans a 33-27 lead. Two free throws by senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) with 2:14 left before halftime stopped the bleeding for Daemen, and the Wildcats found themselves up two (35-33) following a three-point play by Beverly and a three-pointer by Greene. STAC regained a 37-35 lead, but a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Hannah gave the Wildcats a 38-37 halftime lead.
STAC held a 57-56 lead nine minutes into the second half when the Spartans put together an 8-1 run and took a 65-57 lead after Reyes made one of two free throws with 8:46 remaining. A three-pointer by senior Marcus Henderson (Newburgh, N.Y.) with 4:27 left gave the Spartans their largest lead of the game, 75-66, but the Wildcats answered with a layup by Beverly and back-to-back three-pointers by Greene to make it a one-point game, 75-74, with just over three minutes left. STAC answered with a triple by freshman Jules de Courtenay (Brisbane, Australia) and neither team scored after that until Reyes hit two free throws with 1:09 left to make it 80-74. Daemen came no closer than four points down the stretch.
Both teams shot the ball very well. Daemen shot 63-percent (14-for-22) from the field in the first half and finished 25-for-45 (57%) overall. STAC shot 60-percent (15-for-25) in the second half and finished 31-for-59 (53%). The Wildcats made 11 three-pointers in the game, but Daemen turned the ball over 18 times (compared to just 8 for STAC) and the Spartans finished with a 32-13 edge in points off turnovers.
Daemen returns to action tomorrow (Feb. 21) when it hosts Mercy College in an ECC game at 4 p.m. It will mark the final home game of the season for Daemen.
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