RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A tie-breaking jump shot by junior center Ayotunde Oyeniyi (Lagos, Nigeria/Rock School [Fla.]) with 38 seconds left in regulation lifted the Felician College men's basketball team to a 78-73 non-conference victory over visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College on Monday night at Job Gymnasium.

Felician (9-12) was led by 27 points and 19 rebounds from senior swingman Antoine Obery (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark), who had posted a double-double by halftime (14, 11). Obery is averaging 30.0 points and 18.3 rebounds and shooting 57.6 percent from the floor during the Golden Falcons' current three-game win streak. Senior guard Justin Brown (Uniondale, N.Y./Uniondale) recorded 29 points, six rebounds and seven assists for STAC.

Felician, which never trailed, opened up an 18-9 lead after eight minutes of action, and, on Obery's buzzer-beating put-back, brought a 37-29 edge into the locker room. Still ahead by nine with 15:23 remaining in the contest, the hosts embarked on a 13-4 run to take their largest lead, 63-45, with 11:11 to play.

But St. Thomas Aquinas (4-16) came all the way back, holding the Golden Falcons to two field goals in a span of 10-plus minutes while outscoring the hosts, 28-10, to tie the score at 73-73 at the 1:00 mark. In the latter stages of the run, however, the Spartans missed out on numerous chances to do further damage at the foul line, failing to convert two front ends of 1-and-1 situations, then twice splitting a pair with opportunities to tie or take the lead.

After one Omar Kellman (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows) foul shot knotted the game for the only time, Oyeniyi, a transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson University, saw his jumper from the foul line bounce off the back-rim and fall through the net. The Spartans were then called for traveling, and with the shot clock off, were forced to foul. Felician freshman Jamal Reid (Newark, N.J./East Side) made one of two, and Brown's pull-up tying three-point attempt missed short. A free throw each by Obery and Reid provided the final margin.

Anthony D. Green (Jersey City, N.J./Snyder) scored 15 points and Oyeniyi picked up 11 in 13 bench minutes for Felician. The Golden Falcons offset a shooting disadvantage of 49-37 percent by earning a 50-33 rebounding edge, including 23-7 on the offensive glass.

Brown scored 18 second-half points to lead the Spartan uprising, shooting 11 of 19 for the night. Kellman finished with 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Felician ends its non-conference slate for the season with a 3-5 record. The Golden Falcons continue a three-game homestand on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Holy Family University.