AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball fell behind by as many as 13 points in the opening 10 minutes of tonight's game, ultimately falling to Saint Thomas Aquinas College by the final score of 85-66 in both teams' return to East Coast Conference play at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The loss snaps Daemen's modest two-game winning streak as the Wildcats drop below the .500 mark overall (5-6).  It also pushes Daemen to 1-3 in ECC play.  For STAC, the result marked their third-straight win, and their fifth in the last seven outings as they move to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the league.

STAC's Justin Reyes put together one of the finest performances by a visiting team player at Lumsden Gym in recent memory, totaling 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting, while adding 19 rebounds.  Six of Reyes' boards came on the offensive end with four of those leading directly to buckets by the 6-foot-4 redshirt-sophomore.  Reyes' efforts on the offensive glass helped the Spartans establish a 46-30 edge in points in the paint tonight.

As good as Reyes was, he had plenty of help.  Nine other Spartan players reached the scoresheet, including a trio of 11-point scorers.  Starting point guard James Mitchell went 3-for-6 from three-point range and added six assists to his 11-point outing.  ECC Preseason Player of the Year Chaz Watler nothced 11 points, five boards and three assists, and Shaquille McFarlan came off the bench for his 11 points.  STAC also got nine points on 3-for-3 shooting long-range shooting from freshman Jonathan Lawton, part of the Spartans' 11-for-18 showing (61-percent) from long distance.  The Spartans came into the game shooting just 31-percent from three-point range and averaging 5.4 made triples per game so far this season.

The loss spoiled a tremendous effort from the Wildcats' Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College).  The 6-foot-5 slasher started slowly but picked it up late in the first half en route to a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting.  In two career games agains the Spartans, Dyck is averaging 31 points per outing; he scored a career-high 35 points in his lone appearance against STAC last season.

Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) tossed in 14 points, but no other Daemen player managed more than six.  Dyck chipped in with a team-high six rebounds, matching the total of Xavier Long (Brooklyn, N.Y./Williamsburg Prep) who continued his solid play off the bench.  Rebounding was an issue for the Wildcats however, with STAC winning the backboard battle 44-27.

It was a more than seven-minute drought without a field goal early in the game that set an unfortunate tone for the Wildcats in this one.  Mehmetaj scored on a jumper at the 18:46 mark to make the count 5-4 in favor of STAC, but the Wildcats wouldn't make another field goal until Long's tip-in at the 11:17 mark.  In that stretch, a Mehmetaj free throw at the 12:21 mark snapped a six-minute scoreless streak.  But, Reyes' first tip-in came on the ensuing STAC possession, putting the guests ahead 18-5.

STAC would extend their first-half lead to 21 following a three-pointer by reserve guard Adam Koziol at the 3:38 mark of the opening half.  Essentially trading baskets from there on out, the Spartans took a 19-point lead (46-27) into the halftime intermission.

The Spartans enjoyed 55-percent shooting from the field in the first half, including a mind-blowing 8-for-11 showing from three-point range.  On the contrary, Daemen was limited ot 31-percent shooting in the period, including an icy 1-for-8 from deep.

It was all over except the shouting at that point as Daemen never seriously threatened the STAC lead in the second half.  The Wildcats cut the deficit to 17 on three ocassions, but STAC simply kept scoring.  The Spartans somehow exceeded their first-half shooting, going 17-for-29 (59-percent) in the second stanza.  That left little opportunity for the Wildcats to make much of a dent in the deficit, despite rebounding with a 47-percent shooting half of their own.

The result today gives the Spartans a 4-2 lead in the all-time series which dates back to the 1999-2000 season.  STAC has now won three-straight in the series as well, and they're the first team with back-to-back wins at Lumsden Gymnasium since Cedarville University won here during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.  The result today marked Daemen's first double-figure defeat at home since a 73-54 loss to Roberts Wesleyan College on February 15, 2011.

It was also a rare January loss for the Wildcats who are now 33-7 in the month, including 13-2 at home, since the 2011-12 season.

Daemen looks to right the ship when they host Mercy College this Saturday, January 9 in another ECC clash.  Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.