BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Sophomore Nick Davidson (Lumberton, N.J.) registered a team-high 22 points, but a tough shooting day ended with the Bloomfield College men's basketball team dropping a New Years Eve afternoon's 68-66 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas College at the Bloomfield Gymnasium.

The Bears lost their third straight game and fell to 3-8 on the season after the non-conference battle. The Spartans improved to 7-4 and closed out 2015 on a winning note. 

Davidson only shot 5-for-14 from the field but knocked in 12-of-14 from the line and grabbed 5 rebounds for the afternoon. Freshman Safee Abdus-Sabur (Newark, N.J.) had a strong showing with 15 points (4-10 FG, 1-2 3FG, 6-9 FT) to go along with six boards. Sophomore Rakwan Kelly netted 14 points (4-11 FG, 6-8 FT) and picked up a pair of assists and steals as he led the Bears on the glass with eight. Senior Claude Blue (Brooklyn, N.Y.) rounded out the Bloomfield double-digit scorers with 11 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 FT) and added four boards and three blocks.
 
Justin Reyes recorded his sixth double-double of the season as he registered game-highs in points (25) and rebounds (11) for the visiting team. Chaz Walter added 15 points to the Spartans effort on the day.
 
The opening 10 minutes of the contest saw the teams battle for an edge with Bloomfield going up four (14-10) off a bucket in the paint by Abdus-Sabur only to fall behind five (19-14) a minute later on a Reyes layup. Kelly put the Bears up 20-19 with 7:48 remaining in the half but the Spartans charged back with an 8-0 run to seize relative control.
 
A Davidson bucket cut the Bloomfield deficit to just three at 25-32 with 0:19 to go before Reyes would tack on a basket down low before the buzzer sounded to allow St. Thomas Aquinas to bring a 37-32 edge into the locker room.
 
Reyes opened up the second half with back-to-back layups that helped extend the visitors' lead to 41-33, but a Davidson bucket in the paint capped a 10-2 run by Bloomfield and drew the teams even at 43-43 at the 12:55 mark. The teams continued to trade baskets to the tune of three ties across the next seven minutes of play. The Spartans jumped ahead again on the strength of a 9-2 run and enjoyed the seven point spread with 2:25 remaining in the game.
 
Abdus-Sabur had the answer as he drove to the basket and converted the bucket while being fouled to draw his team to within one (63-62) with only 0:22 left to play. The freshman was unable to convert the free throw to draw the Bears even and down the stretch St. Thomas Aquinas sank enough free throws to hold on for the non-league victory.
 
The Spartans outshot Bloomfield, 41.5 percent (27-65) to 35.8 percent (19-53) from the field. The Bears sank more free throws (27) than St. Thomas Aquinas attempted (14) and were plus-seventeen from the line. The glass went the Spartans way at 39-36 and the visitors held a huge 44-22 edge in the paint.
 
The Bears will ring in the New Year with a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Cougars from Caldwell University. The 3:00 pm start will conclude a three-game home stand for Bloomfield as they look to end their current three-game slide.
 
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