Sparkill, N.Y. - For a second straight day Ethan Millirons was called upon to play the role of hero for the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team, and once again the sophomore guard from Riner, Virginia did just that. Millirons' corner three-pointer as time expired in regulation sent a raucous Aquinas Hall crowd into pandemonium, only this time it was to celebrate a victory for the ages, as the Spartans beat Goldey-Beacom College, 87-84 on Sunday afternoon.

STAC improves to 3-1 on the year, while Goldey-Beacom slips to 2-3.

James Patterson led the way for the Spartans, posting 30 points and 10 rebounds, while teammates Kyle Pulliam (13pts) and Rich Smith (10pts & 10rebs) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 42.1 percent from the field (32-76), while Goldey-Beacom shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Rich Smith led the maroon and gold with five assists on the afternoon.
• James Patterson made 9 of his 15 field goal attempts and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, while Kyle Pulliam went 5-for-14 from the floor.
• STAC out-rebounded Goldey-Beacom by a 44-35 margin, with Patterson and teammate Rich Smith each grabbing a game-high 10 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 13 steals, with the Lightning turning the ball over on 20 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in five team statistical categories over Goldey-Beacom: Points off Turnovers (26-19), Second Chance Points (18-8), Points in the Paint (40-38), Fastbreak Points (2-0) and Bench Points (24-17).
• The game featured four ties and seven lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Goldey-Beacom scored the first points of the game, but they were quickly answered by a Kyle Pulliam jumper to tie the game at 2-2.
• Tied at four, the visitors took the lead again (7-4) on a three-pointer. Pulliam, Rich Smith, and James Patterson then scored nine straight points to flip the scoreboard in favor of the Spartans, 13-7.
• Back and forth action gave both sides multiple leads, until Goldey-Beacom rattled off six straight points to pull ahead 22-17 with 11 minutes to play in the opening half. 
• Trailing by seven (30-23), STAC consecutive treys by Javion Patterson and Ethan Millirons to cut their deficit to 32-29.
• A 15-2 run by the Lighning stunned the Spartans and forced them to call a timeout in order to slow things down and regroup, now down 47-31 with just under 90 seconds to play before the break.
• Goldey-Beacom hold STAC to just three additional points, while picking up four themselves to take a 51-34 lead into the halftime locker room.
• Nazim Derry led all scorers with 22 first half points for the Lightning, while James Patterson recorded 10 points for the Spartans.
• When the teams returned to the court for second half action, James Patterson earned a pair of free throws to narrow the Lightning lead to 15, 51-36.
• Down 19 (57-38), STAC clawed back as a Lawrence Foreman, Kyle Pulliam, James Patterson and Luis Risquez put together a 13-0 streak to pull within six, 57-51 with 14 minutes left in regulation. 
• James Patterson continued his hot start to the season, with 5-0 run of his own to get the Spartans deficit to just one (60-59), before a Deshawne Crim jumper and a Shaun Arnold layup put STAC ahead 63-60 with 10 and a half minutes to play.
• Five straight points in a 30 second span by Goldey-Beacom flipped the scoreboard back in their favor at 65-63.
• While the Spartans continued to chip away at its deficits, Goldey-Beacom would regain its advantages, holding an eight point lead (75-67) with 5:23 remaining in the second half.
• STAC continued to fight back and were able to get within one point on a Kyle Pulliam three-pointer to make it 81-80 with 90 seconds to play.
• A Goldey-Beacom jumper was immediately answered by a Rich Smith bucket to make it 83-82 in favor of the visitors with 42 seconds left.
• The Lightning would score their final point of the game on a free throw to make it 84-82, before a pair of made free throws by James Patterson tied the game at 84 all with just 13 seconds left in regulation.
• Goldey-Beacom would get a chance to pull ahead late, but a key turnover allowed the Spartans to take possession of the basketball and call their final timeout to draw up what would be the game winning play.
• STAC would have to go the length of the floor in to win the game, with the inbound coming from Kyle Pulliam and 5.1 seconds left on the clock. Pulliam dished off to Rich Smith, who dribbled up the floor and sent a pass from inside the three-point line to an open Ethan Millirons in the corner near the Spartans' bench. Millirons received the ball and let a semi-contested shot go from beyond the arc that hit the front of the rim and then bounced off of the glass and rattled in to give the maroon and gold the walk-off victory and send the Aquinas Hall faithful into a joyous celebration.

UP NEXT:

STAC hosts Caldwell University in a pre-Thanksgiving showdown at Aquinas Hall Gym on Tuesday, November 21, with the opening tip set for 7:30 p.m.