OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Feb. 5, 2011) – Sophomore Kayvon Roberts (Corona, N.Y.) led the Bears offense with a game-high 19 points on their way to a 74-63 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday afternoon in East Coast Conference action.

 

Roberts went 8-for-17 from the field and also led the team in rebounding with a game-high of eight. Sophomore Dominic Scurry (Ozone Park, N.Y.) and senior Eric Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) also reached double figures. Scurry had 13 points and Rodriguez added 12 of his own. Senior Carl Kindborg (Stockholm, Sweden) had a game-high seven assists for NYIT.

 

The victory improved the Bears to 9-11 on the season and 7-8 in ECC play. The Spartans now fall to 4-16 overall and 4-11 in the conference. Saturday’s win also gave NYIT the series sweep of St. Thomas Aquinas as they won all three match ups between the two this season.

 

Justin Brown and Jamie Blanchard led the Spartans with Brown scoring a team-best 18 points with five rebounds and Blanchard added 16 points. The Bears shot 77.3% from the free throw line while the Spartans only shot 41.7%. NYIT also out rebounded STAC 38-29 for the game.

 

The first half was tight most of the way with Roberts scoring 12 of his 19 in the first half, but the Bears finished strong to take a 37-28 lead at half time. In the second half the Bears continued right where they left off as they surged to a 62-40 lead, their biggest lead of the game.  Rodriguez came out strong scoring all 12 of his points in the second half, leading the Bears offense.

 

The Spartans would make a late push, however, cutting the Bears lead to as little as seven with three minutes to play. The defense tightened up down the stretch as they held the Spartans scoreless for the final three minutes of play, while the Bears hit their free throws late to walk away with a 74-63 victory.

 

NYIT returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 9 when it hosts Queens College at Recreation Hall at 7 p.m.