Men's Basketball Sees Five-Game Winning Streak Snapped At St. Thomas Aquinas In ECC Upper Echelon Battle

Sparkill, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak snapped and the Purple Knights suffered their first East Coast Conference loss of the year, as UB fell 74-70 at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Thursday night in a battle of ECC heavyweights.  With the loss, the Purple Knights are now 7-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.  STAC, ranked number three in the nation in NCAA Division II Men's Basketball by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) stays unbeaten on the season at 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the ECC.

Bridgeport trailed by 14 points, 56-42, with 9:57 to play in the second half, but the Purple Knights would battle back to cut the deficit to only two at 72-70 with 19 seconds to play when senior Montana Mayfield (Philadelphia, Pa.) split two free throws.  That was as close as UB would come, however, as STAC's Chaz Walter, who led the victorious Spartans in scoring on the night with 20 points, would hit two of four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

UB's Rakim Lesane (So., Coney Island, N.Y.) lead all players in the game with 22 points. 

Lesane was joined in double-digit scoring by senior Stefano Osuji (Vorhees, N.J.) with 13 points and junior Carlos DeJesus (Bronx, N.Y.) added 10 points.

Senior Kyle Benjamin (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Purple Knights on the glass grabbing nine rebounds before fouling out.

The UB men's basketball team will look to get back in the win column at home on Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., when the Purple Knights host St. Anselm College in the squad's last game before the Holiday Break.