The No. 2 seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team opens the 2025-26 post-season, battling No. 6 seed Roberts Wesleyan University on Saturday evening at 7:30 pm at Lumsden Gymnasium on the campus of Daemen University in Amherst, New York.
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For More Information, visit ECC Men's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas College - The #2 seeded Spartans received a first-round bye and enter tournament play with a record of 17-11 overall, 13-3 in the ECC, looking to win their ninth ECC Tournament title in the last eleven seasons. The Spartans highlighted the All-Conference awards, with both Starrell Hearns (17.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.7 apg & 2.0 spg) and Derrick James (12.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.8 apg & 2.5 spg) earning first team honors and Jordan Green (11.2 ppg & 4.8 rpg) taking home third team accolades. STAC possesses the third best offense in the ECC, scoring 82.4 points per game and the second best defense, allowing only 80.2 points per contest.
The Teams - Roberts Wesleyan University - The #6 seeded Redhawks (9-16, 6-10 ECC) advanced to the semis on the strength of Wednesday's thrilling 79-76 road victory over the College of Staten Island. Khalik Gardner led the way for the Redhawks with 20 points and averages 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. ECC Third Team All-Conference selection Collin Woods (14.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg & 4.4 apg), Jordan Brown (12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg & 2.8 apg) and Keonjay Carter (11.8 ppg & 3.6 rpg) contribute to a lineup that currently ranks fifth in team scoring (78.5 ppg) and seventh in defense (83.0 ppg) within the ECC.
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #9 ranked team in the East per official NCAA rankings. Eight teams from the East will qualify for the 64-team field at the NCAA Division II Tournament, with automatic bids being earned by champions from the ECC, Northeast-10, and Central Atlantic Collegiate conferences, and the other five awarded on an at-large basis.
Season Series (STAC 2-0):
January 9, 2026, @RWU 74, STAC 88 - The first meeting between the squads saw the Spartans outscore the Redhawks 47-33 in the second half to break open a 41-41 halftime tie at the Voller Athletic Center in Rochester. Starrell Hearns led the way for the STAC with a team-high 27 points, while Derrick James recorded 22 points and Jordan Green 11 points. Keonjay Carter led all scorers with 29 points for Roberts Wesleyan, while Collin woods (14 points), Jaden Lee (12 points) and Jordan Brown (10 points) also scored in double figures.
February 6, 2026 - @STAC 96, RWU 74 - In the rematch in Sparkill, five Spartans scored in double figures, as Starrell Hearns once again paced the STAC offense with a team-high 19 points, while Jordan Green (16 points), Brennan Chatman (13 points), Anthony Daley (12 points) and Igor Gonzalez (10 points) also scored in double digits for the maroon and gold. Collin Woods recorded a game-high 20 points for the Redhawks, with Jordan Brown (17 points) and Keonjay Carter (13 points) also making major contributions to their team's totals on the scoreboard.
What's Next? - The winner of this game will advance to the ECC Tournament Final on Sunday, March 8, at 3:30 pm at Lumsden Gymnasium. They will take on the winner of the Saturday 5:00 pm semifinal between #1 Daemen University and #5 D'Youville University. Like STAC, Daemen earned a bye into the semis, while D'Youville advanced with an 86-80 road victory over Molloy University on Wednesday night.
2026 EAST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round – Wednesday, March 4 at No. 3 and No. 4 seeds
7:00 PM - No. 6 Roberts Wesleyan 79 at No. 3 College of Staten Island 76
7:30 PM - No. 5 D'Youville 86 at No. 4 Molloy 80
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 at Daemen (Amherst, N.Y.)
5:00 PM - No. 5 D'Youville at No. 1 Daemen
7:30 PM - No. 6 Roberts Wesleyan vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas
Final – Sunday, March 8 at Daemen (Amherst, N.Y.)
3:30 PM - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Saturday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on FloCollege (Subscription Required).
Live statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Lumsden Gymnasium or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING
All Games
$10 - Adults
$5 - Children 5 and Up
Free - Children Under 5
* Must purchase separate tickets to attend all semifinal games on March 7 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. No cash accepted on site. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. All ticket sales are for single games only. In addition, the gymnasium will be cleared between each contest. *
* All Ticket Sales Are Final - NO REFUNDS *