Survive and Advance! STAC Holds On To Beat Pace, 79-72; Setting Up NCAA Second Round Showdown With Daemen

Recap courtesy of St. Thomas Aquinas College Sports Information' Ten Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.  Shaun Arnold led the maroon and gold with five assists on the night. Deshawne Crim hit 4 of his 9 field goal attempts, with 3-of-6 buckets going in from beyond the arc, and 6-of-8 free throws. Luis Risquez went 6-of-14 from the floor, with 2-for-4 dropping from distance. STAC out-rebounded Pace by a 47-41 margin, with Shaun Arnold grabbing a game-high 10 boards for the Spartans. St. Thomas Aquinas swiped eight steals, with the Setters turning the ball over on 15 separate occasions. The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Pace: Points off Turnovers (22-13), Second Chance Points (24-13), Points in the Paint (38-30) and Bench Points (32-26). The game featured two ties and one lead change. STAC's largest lead of the game came with just under 11 and a half minutes to play in the first half, when Spartans led by 10 points, 20-10, on a Deshawne Crim free throw. STAC led Pace 40-37 going into the halftime locker room and shot 46.9 percent (15-32) from the floor and 41.7 percent (5-12) from the three-point line. Troy'reon Ramos and Hartnel Haye led all Spartans scorers with seven first half points apiece. Ramos shot 40.0 percent (2-of-5) from the field and 50.0 percent (2-of-4) from three, while Haye shot 43.0 percent (3-of-7) from the floor. St. Thomas Aquinas is now 3-5 in eight total matchups with Pace going back to the 1986-87 season. Seven Setters logged double-digit minutes in the contest.  Trey Boyd III led Pace with 16 points, while Jaden Kealey (15 points) and Darren Fergus (14 points) also scored in double figures. Tray Alexander led Pace with 10 assists on the evening. Boyd went 6-for-16 from the floor. Meanwhile, Kealey went 4-for-11 from the field and 7-of-11 from the foul line. Jamaal Waters grabbed a game-high 10 boards for the Setters. Pace picked up five steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 10 separate occasions. The Setters earned one advantage in the team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Fastbreak Points (10-7). Jaden Kealey led all scorers with 11 first half points for the Setters, while shooting 57.1 percent (4-for-7) from field.
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