SPARKILL, NY – The D'Youville University men's basketball team fell to St. Thomas Aquinas College on Sunday by a score of 106-68.
 
Trayton Trice (Romeoville, Ill.) turned in a solid performance for the Saints, leading the team with 21 points and six rebounds. Noah Hutchins (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored 13 points and recorded a team-high five assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Renard Fontes Jules (Brockton, Mass.) also turned in a double-digit scoring performance with ten points and made an impact on defense as well with five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
 
Mason Putnam (Prattsburgh, N.Y.) got the Saints on the board with a layup on the Saints' first possession. A close-range jumper from Trice followed by a layup from Fontes-Jules knotted the game up at 8-8 at the 16:15 mark. After STAC took a five-point lead, Luke Theisen (Lake View, N.Y.) knocked down a three to make it 17-15 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
 
The Spartans proceeded to reel off a 14-2 run over the next two and a half minutes to go ahead 31-17. Three-pointers from Trice and Chase Jenkins (Titusville, N.Y.) put a stop to the momentum and brought the Saints back within seven with 6:18 left in the first half. The Spartans, however, would get hot again and extended their lead out to 17 with two minutes until halftime. Mid-range jumpers from Trice and Hutchins sent DYU to halftime trailing 50-37.
 
STAC came out firing in the second half, ripping off a 17-5 run to take a 65-42 lead five minutes into the half. A pair of free throws from Putnam and a layup from Hutchins made it 67-46 with 13:43 to play. A 9-0 run from STAC put them ahead by 30 at the 11:54 mark. A Fontes-Jules mid-range jumper and layups from Hutchins and Nasir Hammonds (Norfolk, Va.) fueled a 7-0 run for the Saints, making it 84-53 with 9:26 remaining in the second half. A layup from Nelson St. Louis (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) capped off the scoring for the Saints with 45 seconds left, as STAC secured the victory.
 
D'Youville will be back home next weekend, as they welcome Queens College to College Center Gym on Friday at 8:00 p.m.