2024 ECC Men's Basketball Championship Most Outstanding Player Kyle Pulliam (6'5''-G) dropped 21 points for No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas as the Spartans defended their title and defeated No. 3 Daemen, 77-66, in the ECC title game in Aquinas Hall on Sunday afternoon. This marks the fourth straight season in which the Spartans and Wildcats have met in the finals, with STAC winning all four match-ups. The Spartans have now won five consecutive ECC titles and eight of the last nine.
STAC now stands at 25-5 overall and clinches an automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament - with seedings and matchups being announced later tonight - as the Spartans entered the weekend at No. 2 in the East Regional rankings. Daemen slips to 24-8 and awaits the decision makers within the men's basketball selection committee to call their name as one of the five at-large bid squads.
Kyle Pulliam led the STAC offense with 21 points, while James Patterson (6'7''-G) (19 points) also scored in double-figures for the maroon and gold. Dylan Fasoyiro (6'3''-G) paced Daemen's scoring with 21 points on the afternoon.
St. Thomas Aquinas shot 37.1% percent from the field (26-70) and 80.0 percent from the foul line (16-20), while Daemen shot 38.5 percent (25-65) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

Eight Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
Richard Smith (6'3''-G) and Jamal Barnes (6'4''-G) led the maroon and gold with three assists on the afternoon.
Kyle Pulliam hit 8 of his 18 field goal attempts, while also going 2-of-2 from the foul line. Meanwhile, James Patterson went 5-for-13 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
STAC out-rebounded Daemen by a 52-40 margin, with Lawrence Foreman and Luis Risquez both grabbing a game-high 11 boards apiece for the Spartans.
St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 10 steals, with the Wildcats turning the ball over on 11 separate occasions.
The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Daemen: Points off Turnovers (19-10), Second Chance Points (27-13), Bench Points (26-14) and Fastbreak Points (10-6).
The game featured three ties and four lead changes.
STAC's largest lead of the contest came with just over nine minutes to play in the second half, when the Spartans led by 19 points, 66-47 on made layup by Luis Risquez.
St. Thomas Aquinas led Daemen 35-29 at the half and shot 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from the field.
Kyle Pulliam led all scorers with 11 first half points for the Spartans, while shooting 66.6 percent (4-of-6) from the field.
The Spartans outscored the Wildcats 42-37 in the second stanza to close out the finals victory.
Kyle Pulliam was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player of the, while teammates Richard Smith and James Patterson were selected to the All-Tournament team.

DAEMEN NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

Seven Wildcats logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
Dylan Fasoyiro led Daemen with 21 points. Teammates Joey Atkins (6'5''-F), Nick Macdonald (6'5''-G) and Zach Philipkoski (6'4''-G/F) recorded nine points apiece.
Joey Atkins led Daemen with five assists on the day.
Fasoyiro went 7-for-17 from the floor, with both Nick Macdonald and Zach Philopkoski hit 4 of their 8 field goal attempts.
Atkins also grabbed eight boards for the Wildcats.
Daemen picked up six steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 12 separate occasions.
Daemen's largest lead of the contest came with 8:50 to play in the opening half, when the visitors took a 19-14 advantage on a Zach Philipkoski made jumper.
Nick Macdonald led the Wildcats with seven first half points, while shooting 60.0 percent (3-for-5) from the field.
Joey Atkins and Dylan Fasoyiro were also named to the All-Tournament team.

Courtesy of eccsports.org

ECC Final: St. Thomas Aquinas - Daemen 77-66

ECC Semifinals:
St. Thomas Aquinas - Roberts Wesleyan 79-71
Staten Island - Daemen 56-68

ECC Quarterfinals:
Daemen - Queens 76-68
Roberts Wesleyan - District of Columbia 64-61

All-Tournament MVP: Kyle Pulliam (6'5''-G) of STAC
Player of the Year: James Patterson (6'7''-G) of STAC
Defensive Player of the Year: Joey Atkins (6'5''-F) of Daemen
Rookie of the Year: Rob Matos (5'9''-PG) of Molloy
Coach of the Year: T.J. Tibbs of Staten Island

All-ECC First Team 2024

Atkins

Brooks

Fasoyiro

Mallory

Patterson

Waterman

First Team
Joey Atkins (6'5''-F) of Daemen
Malik Brooks (6'3''-G-2000) of RWU
Dylan Fasoyiro (6'3''-G) of Daemen
Messiah Mallory (6'7''-F) of Staten Island
James Patterson (6'7''-G) of STAC
Bryce Waterman (6'4''-F) of Staten Island

Second Team
Sunnie Diamond (6'2''-G) of Queens, NY
Rob Matos (5'9''-PG) of Molloy
Eric Morgan (6'4''-G) of UDC
Kyle Pulliam (6'5''-G) of STAC
Richard Smith (6'3''-G) of STAC

Third Team
Malik Bentinck (6'6''-F) of Queens, NY
Kevin Constant (6'1''-G) of RWU
Tevin Curtis (5'9''-PG) of UDC
Justin Glover (5'9''-PG) of Daemen
Justin Hemphill (6'6''-F-2001) of Daemen

ECC All-Tournament Team 2024

Pulliam

Patterson

Atkins

Fasoyiro

Mallory

All-Tournament Team
Kyle Pulliam (6'5''-G) of STAC
James Patterson (6'7''-G) of STAC
Richard Smith (6'3''-G) of STAC
Joey Atkins (6'5''-F) of Daemen
Dylan Fasoyiro (6'3''-G) of Daemen
Messiah Mallory (6'7''-F) of Staten Island
Malik Brooks (6'3''-G-2000) of RWU