(03-01-08)
Box Score
SPARKILL, N.Y. -- Chris Williams had 20 points and five assists for St. Thomas Aquinas College, offsetting three double figure scorers for University of New Haven, in a 65-61 East Coast Conference victory at Aquinas Hall on Saturday afternoon. The loss, combined with a Molloy victory over New York Tech, eliminates the Chargers from the ECC playoff race.
Williams scored 13 of his game-high 20 in the second half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, to help STAC (16-11, 12-8 ECC) overcome a three-point halftime deficit on senior day. Robert Payne joined him in double figures with 10 points, while Akeem Comas scored all nine of his points in the second half - including five in a row to cap off a key 16-6 run that put STAC in control.
Darryl Greene (photo) knocked down three 3-pointers and led UNH (11-16, 7-13 ECC) with 16 points, while Cassius Chaney and Tetrick Stonar added 14 points and seven rebounds apiece. Kelvin Jackson had eight points and seven boards.
UNH lost despite out-shooting STAC 47.8 to 39.0 percent, and despite out-rebounding the hosts by a 39-28 margin. The Chargers turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 23 Spartan points.
Molloy defeated New York Tech in a game that ran concurrent to this one, putting the Lions into the ECC playoffs automatically. Mercy College held a tiebreaker over UNH for the eighth and final playoff berth, and thus the Chargers are elminated from contention.
UNH led 29-26 at the half after Greene buried a jumper from the far corner as the buzzer sounded, but STAC opened the second half on a 16-6 run. Comas scored the final five points of the run on a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws for a 42-35 lead.
STAC led by as many as nine points with 10:01 remaining, before UNH mounted a comeback. Trailing 55-48 with 7:09 left, UNH scored eight in a row to take their final lead. Greene hit a 3-pointer and then followed with a layup, and Chaney converted a traditional three-point play to put UNH ahead, 56-55.
But UNH did not score for a 3 minute, 33 second span following Chaney's free throw, as STAC closed out the game on a 10-6 run. The drought allowed STAC to build up a 61-56 lead, broken by a Greene jumper at the 1:42 mark.
UNH then missed a layup and committed two turnovers in the next 58 seconds, forcing the Chargers to foul Comas with 44 seconds left. He made both of his free throws for a 63-58 lead. Jelani Winfield knocked down one of two free throws with 13 seconds left to put STAC ahead by four, and Stonar could not get fouled on a 3-point attempt with just six seconds left as the game came to an end.
