Spartans Hold Off Nyack, 62-61
The St. Thomas Aquinas men's basketball team beat cross town rival Nyack College, 62-61 on a layup by freshman Justin Brown with :08 seconds to go in the game . Junior Jamie Blanchard scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds for STAC.
The Warriors, James Oyamo had scored back to back layups with under two minutes to play to tie the game at 58. Blanchard scored a layup to give STAC back the lead with :52 seconds to go. but the Warriors would not go away quietly as Oyamo was fouled and hit the first free throw. The 6'5" junior got his own rebound off his missed free throw and scored a layup to talk a 61-60 lead with :36 seconds remaining. The Spartans Jason Halloway and Ra'Shad James each had final shot attempts that fell short but fortunately Brown was able to secure the offensive rebound to put back the game winning basket.
The Spartans had three other players who had scored in double figures as James finished with 15 points off 7-14 shooting from the field. Vincent Johnson added 13 points and Chad Williams had 10 points and 6 assists. Oyama led all scorers with 26 points and had 8 rebounds for Nyack. The Warriors held a 39-32 advantage on the glass.
James hit a 3-pointer at the 12:24 mark in the first half to give STAC it's largest lead of the game at 15-10. Nyack went on a 16-1 run over the next seven minutes giving them a ten point lead with five minutes left in the half. The Spartans pushed back and after exchanging baskets they went into the break down five, 30-25. Blanchard led the Spartans with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the first half.
The Spartans will be back in on Tuesday as they travel to Philadephia University for an 8 PM game. STAC will return home after the Thanksgiving break with a 7:30 PM game against Wilmington College on Monday, November 30th.
