No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas Closes Season with NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional Final Loss to Assumption, 97-90

AMHERST, NY – The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team saw its 2024-25 season come to an end with a 97-90 loss to Assumption University in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Region Final at Lumsden Gymnasium in Western New York. Nine Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.  Derrick James and Shaun Arnold led the maroon and gold with four assists each on the night. James hit 7 of his 15 field goal attempts and all four of his free throws attempts. Arnold went 5-of-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the charity stripe. STAC out-rebounded Assumption by a 48-43 margin, with Shaun Arnold also grabbing a team-high nine boards for the Spartans. St. Thomas Aquinas swiped 10 steals, with the Greyhounds turning the ball over on 15 separate occasions. The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over Assumption: Points off Turnovers (25-16), Points in the Paint (52-44) and Bench Points (47-27). The game featured no ties and one lead change. Derrick James led all Spartans scorers with 11 first half points, while shooting 50.0 percent (3-of-6) from the floor, 50.0 percent (1-for-2) from three-point and 100.0 percent (4-of-4) from the foul line. Derrick James and Shaun Arnold were also named to the All-Tournament team. Eight Greyhounds logged double-digit minutes in the contest.  Daouda Dembele led Assumption with 17 points, while Leonard Tangishaka (16 points), Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton (14 points), Njavan Stewart (14 points), Zamareon McCown (12 points) and former Spartan Jamal Barnes (11 points) also scored in double figures. Tangishaka also led Assumption with three assists on the evening. Dembele went 6-for-11 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Tangishaka went 3-for-7 from the field and 10-of-14 from the foul line. Daouda Dembele also grabbed a game-high 10 boards for the Greyhounds. Assumption picked up nine steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 13 separate occasions. The Greyhounds earned one advantage in the team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Fastbreak Points (26-7). Assumption's largest lead of the game came with 13 minutes to play in the contest, when the Greyhounds led by 19 points, 70-51, on a Njavan Stewart free throw. Assumption led STAC 52-40 going into the halftime locker room and shot 54.5 percent (18-33) from the floor and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the free throw line. Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton led all scorers with 12 first half points for the Greyhounds, while shooting 100.0 percent (4-for-4) from field and 80.0 percent (4-of-5) from the charity stripe. Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tourney, while teammate Leonard Tangishaka was also selected to the All-Tournament team.
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