St. Thomas Aquinas Defeats Mercy College Men’s Basketball 65-51
NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Result 
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
St. Thomas Aquinas Defeats Mercy College Men's Basketball 65-51
WHITE PLAINS, NY - The Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 65-51 decision to visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday, January 17, at the Westchester County Center. The host Flyers fell to 4-10 overall and 3-4 in East Coast Conference (ECC) action, while the Spartans improved to 4-11 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
Junior guard Paul Flowers (New York, NY) scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds for Mercy. Junior guard Chanze Wellington (Spring Valley, NY) chipped in 11 points for the Flyers. St. Thomas Aquinas junior guard Ra Chase (West Haverstraw, NY) led all players with 18 points and picked up six rebounds. Sophomore guard Jelani Winfield (Woodside, NY) added 16 points and seven boards for the Spartans.
The contest got off to a slow start, and midway through the first half it was tied up at 12-12 after a jumper from junior guard Akeem Comas (Brooklyn, NY) for St. Thomas Aquinas. After a Mercy turnover, Comas nailed another jumper to give the Spartans a two-point lead. The Flyers heated up and went on a 9-0 run, sparked by back-to-back jumpers from senior forward Devon Mirjah (Bronx, NY) after a three-pointer from Wellington and a basket by senior forward Dominick Cuzzi (Bronx, NY), building a 21-14 advantage.
The Spartans had an answer as junior forward Anthony Mills (New York, NY) scored the first five points in a 14-4 spurt to close out the frame and give St. Thomas Aquinas a 28-25 edge at the break.
Mercy trailed by three again, 36-33 after another Mirjah jumper with 15:26 to go. The Flyers could not pull closer the rest of the way though, as the Spartans shot a blistering 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the field in the second half and outscored Mercy 18-8 over the final 8:09.
St. Thomas Aquinas finished the game at 59 percent from the field, while holding Mercy to 34 percent. Flowers hit 9-of-12 at the free throw line for Mercy, picking up three steals. Wellington connected on a trio of three-pointers and went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe as he played all 40 minutes for the second straight game, and fourth in the last five.
Chase hit 6-of-8 from the field and 6-of-11 from the free throw line for St. Thomas Aquinas. Winfield hit 4-of-5 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
Mercy returns to action on Saturday, January 22, at ECC opponent C.W. Post. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. Mercy's next home contest will be Monday, January 22 against the Bridgeport. The contest will be played at the Westchester County Center on "Brian Sweeney Night."
