Williams Sinks Three to Force Overtime

The St. Thomas Aquinas men's basketball team defeated Mercy College 68-62 in overtime on Saturday.  Senior Chris Williams hit a three with time running off the clock to tie the game and give the Spartans a chance to come away with the win.  Williams finished with thirteen points (3-7 from behind the arc) and five assists.  Akeem Comas led all scorers with twenty-three points shooting 10-14 from the field.

Freshmen Ra'Shad James hit a jumper to start the second half, giving STAC the lead they would hold onto for most of the way.  Mercy's Jason Charles scored a layup followed by a foul shot to give the Mavericks a 51-49 lead with 2:25 remaining in the game.  Charles finished with eleven points and five rebounds.  Both teams scored twice more before Michael Marin hit a three with :29 seconds remaining to give Mercy a three point lead.  Marin led the Mavericks with twenty-two points and five rebounds. 

The Spartans missed a three pointer by James and were forced to foul, putting Daniel Orlando on the line to secure the win for Mercy.  Orlando's shot missed as Ahmed Allen grabbed the rebound and hit Williams with the outlet pass.  Williams dribbled up the left side of the court and drained a three.   Allen finished with a team high seven rebounds.  Pierre Gaspard added eleven points and five rebounds for the Spartans. 

STAC outscored Mercy 12-6 in overtime.  The Spartans move to 6-8 in the conference.  STAC will travel to Concordia on Wednesday.