Purple Knights Strengthen Grip On Top Spot In ECC Men's Basketball Standings With A 74-65 Win At St. Thomas Aquinas

Sparkill, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team strengthened its hold on first place in the regular season East Coast Conference standings with an impressive 74-65 road win over the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans on Saturday afternoon.  The victory is Bridgeport's twelfth in a row, as the Purple Knights move to 21-4 overall and 14-1 in the ECC.  STAC is now 21-6 overall and 12-3 in conference play.  Saturday's win also gives the Purple Knights a regular season sweep over the Spartans, as UB won earlier this season at home, 73-57.

On Saturday, UB led 36-27 and increased that lead to 11 points early on the second only to see St. Thomas Aquinas rally back to take 44-42 lead with 12:14 to play in the contest.

With the score tied 49-49 with 9:30 to play, Bridgeport junior D'Vonne Trumbo (Pilesgrove, N.J.) hit a three-point shot to give the Purple Knights a three-point lead, 52-49, at the 9:16 mark which they never relinquished.  UB sealed the win with a 9-2 run to finish off the contest.

Senior Sharif Cobb (Harlem, N.Y.) led the winners in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and seven boards.

He was joined in double-digit by Trumbo, who had a solid all-around game with 12 points, eight assists and three steals, and junior Vakas Iqbal (Staten Island, N.Y.), who netted 10 points, all of which came in the second half.

UB senior Sam Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Bakary Camara (Harlem, N.Y.) each finished just shy of double figures scoring nine points for the winners.

Justin Reyes led STAC with a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Turnovers played a huge part in Saturday's win for Bridgeport, as the Purple Knights converted 24 Spartans' turnovers into 26 points; while STAC turned 16 UB miscues into only 14 points.

Up next, the UB men's basketball team opens a two-game homestand next Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. when they host Mercy College in Hubbell Gym.  The Purple Knights need one more victory to clinch the number one seed in this season's East Coast Conference Championship Tournament.