SPARKILL, N.Y. – A late rally by the Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (7-7) came up short as the Rams fell at 21^st-ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas (13-2), 72-69, on Wednesday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams were even at 10 with 15:38 left in the first half. After a Spartans jumper, Darius Kinnel hit a three to put the Rams ahead 13-12. STAC tallied six in a row to go ahead by five but Jefferson came back with a 7-2 run, with all seven points scored by Erik Timko, to even it up at 20 with 9:45 on the clock. Tied at 22, the Spartans pulled in front with an 8-0 surge to make it 30-22 with 4:45 remaining. STAC led by as many as 10 (34-24) before taking a nine-point advantage (36-27) into halftime.
 
The Spartans made the first basket of the second half to increase their lead to 11 (38-27). The Rams responded with a 9-0 run to close the gap to two (38-36) with 16:09 to go. STAC then netted six consecutive to restore an eight-point cushion. Jefferson was within six (58-52) with 5:36 left but the Spartans poured in six in a row for their largest lead of the afternoon (64-52) with 4:18 remaining.
 
Not packing it in, the Rams battled back, posting eight straight points over the next three-plus minutes to cut the deficit to four (64-60) entering the final 60 seconds. Both teams made a layup and the difference remained at four with 33 seconds to play. After a pair of STAC free throws, Timko drilled a triple and drew a foul with 20 seconds left. He converted the foul shot to make it a two-point game (68-66).
 
Jefferson put the Spartans at the line and two shots made it 70-66 before Timko went down and banged another three to get the Rams within one (70-69) with nine ticks remaining. Jefferson was forced to foul again. STAC missed the front end of the one-and-one off the back iron but the Spartans grabbed the offensive board and drew another foul. This time, the home team converted both shots for a 72-69 lead with four seconds to go. The Rams got the ball past midcourt but a pass to Timko was knocked away by the defense and time ran out before Jefferson could put up a shot.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Erik Timko: 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting (6-10 3PT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Bismark Nsiah: 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 3 blocks, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Ahmed Barba-Bey: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block
Darius Kinnel: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Antonin Kemkeng: 7 points, 14 rebounds
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 25-of-61 (41.0%)
3PT: 12-of-31 (38.7%)
FT: 7-of-11 (63.6%)
 
NOTES
- Erik Timko hit his 100^th career three-pointer.
- The Rams struggled inside, scoring just 20 points in the paint.
- Jefferson made double-digit threes for the third straight contest.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams visit Bridgeport for a conference matchup on Saturday, January 7^th at 3 p.m.