CASTLETON, Vt. - The Spartans got an outstanding effort from junior Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) as Castleton moved into a tie for first place in the North Atlantic Conference with an 83-70 victory over Colby-Sawyer on Saturday afternoon in Glenbrook Gym.

With the score tied at 65 and 5:10 remaining the Spartans took control, scoring 12 consecutive points over the next 3:50 and forcing multiple turnovers to grab a 77-65 advantage that they wouldn't relinquish. Castleton improves to 6-1 in the NAC with the victory and 7-6 overall, tying Me.-Farmington for the top spot in the conference. Colby-Sawyer drops to 8-5 overall and 6-2 in the NAC with the loss.

Comstock had arguably his best game of the season, shooting 8-for-12 from the field and going 11-for-13 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 28 points. The junior also pulled down 12 rebounds and took a charge in the midst of Castleton's 12-0 run to keep the Chargers scoreless. Senior Greg Hughes (West Rutland, Vt.) was the only other Spartan in double figures with ten.

It was Castleton's defense and rebounding which made the difference, as the Spartans out-rebounded Colby-Sawyer 52-46 and had a whopping 20-10 advantage on the offensive boards. They also forced 26 turnovers that led to 29 points on the offensive end and went 30-for-40 from the charity stripe while the Chargers made just 13 of 21 shots from the line.

Castleton scored the first seven points of the contest and pushed the lead to 18-4 just six minutes into the contest. Colby-Sawyer was able to get the deficit to 20-15 three and a half minutes later and the two teams went back and forth until four quick points gave the Chargers their first lead, 31-30, at the 4:50 mark.

A pair of foul shots by Tyler Ackley (Scotia, N.Y.) gave the Spartans back the lead; however Colby-Sawyer went on an 11-5 run to end the half and go into the break leading 41-36.

Comstock led off the second half with a triple as part of an 8-0 Spartan run to open the half and take a 44-41 lead three minutes in. The two teams traded points as neither could gain a sizable advantage over the next ten minutes. A Comstock layup with 7:49 gave Castleton a 63-58 advantage; however a 7-2 run by Colby-Sawyer tied the game at 65 with 5:10 remaining.

Hughes hit a triple 29 seconds later to break the tie and jump-start a 12-0 run by the Spartans, which gave them a 77-65 lead with just 1:29 left. The Chargers were forced to foul in the last 90 seconds and Castleton made enough of its free throws to come away with the win.

Junior Dammy Mustapha (Bellows Falls, Vt.) was big on the boards with 11 rebounds and nine points, while senior Keith Schneider (Benson, Vt.)  had five points, nine rebounds and four assists without a turnover.

The Spartans return to action on Jan. 17 when they travel to face top-ranked Middlebury at 7:30 p.m.