• Box Score

SPARKILL, N.Y. (Jan. 18, 2012) - Senior Russell Holloway (Budd Lake, N.J.) led all players with 16 points as NYIT men's basketball faced a hard-fought 62-58 loss on the road at St. Thomas Aquinas College Wednesday night. Holloway was one of three Bears to score in double-digits as NYIT fell to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in East Coast Conference play. The Spartans improved to 7-8 on the season and 3-3 in ECC action.

Junior Dominic Scurry (Ozone Park, N.Y.) registered the game's only double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Scurry had a near triple-double with a game-high six assists. Redshirt freshman Jahleel Felix (Flushing, N.Y.) chipped in with 15 points.

Both teams struggled to find their offense in the first half, with the Spartans holding a small 8-4 lead after seven minutes of play. Then, senior Bernard Brooks (LaGrange, Ga.) knocked down a three-pointer at 12:43 that began a 17-8 run over 10 minutes that gave the Bears a 21-16 edge with 2:55 left. Despite a three-pointer from Justin Brown, the Bears held on for a 25-21 edge at halftime.

The Spartans quickly knotted the score at 25-25 in the first two minutes of play in the second half. The teams then engaged in a fierce struggle, which saw the score tied on six occasions over an eight minute period. In all, the score was tied ten times in the second half alone, until STAC finally grabbed control with 3:13 to play. Iran Stark snapped a 48-48 deadlock and began a 7-0 run that pushed the Spartans ahead for good. Yet, NYIT did come within two points on a layup by Scurry with 12 seconds to play. But a series of free throws by Brown and Sam Wilson sealed the victory of STAC.

Omar Kellman led STAC with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Stark added 14 points and Brown tallied 12 points. STAC shot 42% from the field (22-52), while NYIT was held to just 32% (18-56). The Bears won the rebounding battled, 43-37.

NYIT returns to action on the road at Bridgeport on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.