Tampa, Fla. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team was outscored 53-17 in the first half, as the Eckerd College Tritons took a lopsided 96-61 victory over the Spartans on Saturday evening at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on day one of the Tampa Holiday Classic.

STAC falls back to the .500 mark at 6-6 on the year, while Eckerd improves its overall record at 6-4.

Starrell Hearns posted a team-high 12 points for the Spartans, while Jordan Green (11 points) also scored in double figures. For the Tritons, Miquel Llompart led all scorers with 23 points.

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 33.3 percent (20-60) from the field, while Eckerd shot 57.6 percent (38-66) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
• Joshua Michigan and Michael Parrotta led the maroon and gold with two assists apiece on the evening.
• Starrell Hearns hit 4 of his 10 field goal attempts, with 3-of-6 shots going in from long distance. Jordan Green went 5-for-10 from the floor.
• Eckerd out-rebounded STAC by a 51-29 margin, with Joshua Michigan grabbing a team-high five boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas swiped 12 steals, with the Tritons turning the ball over on 19 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two key team statistical categories over Eckerd: Points off Turnovers (19-17) and Fastbreak Points (13-11).
• The game featured no ties and no lead changes.
• St. Thomas Aquinas trailed Eckerd 53-17 at the half and shot 20.0 percent (5-25) from the field and 60.0 percent (6-10) from the foul line.
• Starrell Hearns led all Spartans' scorers with six first half points, while shooting 40.0 percent (2-of-5) from the floor.

ECKERD NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ten Tritons logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Miquel Llompart led Eckerd with 23 points, while teammates Jacob Davis (15 points), Carlos Cortijo (11 points), Brady Patterson (11 points) and Tim Taiwo (10 points) also scored in double figures.
• Koa Baker led Eckerd with five assists apiece on the night.
• Llompart went 9-for-15 from the floor, with 5-of-8 shots sailing through the nets from beyond the arc. Davis connected on 6-of-10 field goal attempts.
• Davis also grabbed a game-high nine boards for the Tritons.
• Eckerd picked up five steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 16 separate occasions.
• The Tritons earned advantages in three key team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Second Chance Points (19-6), Points in the Paint (42-22) and Bench Points (32-19).
• Eckerd had its largest lead of the game (44 points) with just under six minutes to play in the contest, 86-42, on a Caden Walton layup.
• Miquel Llompart led all scorers at the half with 17 points for the Tritons, with Llompart shooting 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the field and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from beyond the arc.
• Eckerd's best shooting half came in the opening stanza, with the Tritons shooting 65.6 percent (21-32) from the field, 58.3 percent (7-12) from downtown and 80.0 percent (4-5) from the charity stripe.

UP NEXT:

STAC closes out its Sunshine State road trip by taking on the University of Tampa on day two of the Tampa Holiday Classic, Sunday, December 21. Tip-off between the New York Spartans and Florida Spartans is set for 5:00 p.m. at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.