CASTLETON, Vt. – The second-seeded Spartans shot 57 percent in the first half to open up a 25-point lead and kept pushing the pace as they finished with a 128-88 victory over No. 7 New England College in the North Atlantic Conference Quarterfinals at Glenbrook Gym on Tuesday evening. 

Castleton advance to its fifth consecutive NAC Semifinals by dominating the paint and beyond the arc. The Spartans shot 56 percent for the game, scored 74 points in the paint and made 13 triples as they improved to 19-7 overall. They also scored 45 points off turnovers, dished off 31 assists and swiped 20 steals.

The Pilgrims managed to shoot just 36.5 percent from floor and 21.4 percent from downtown as they ended their season with an 8-18 record. New England College did pull down 21 offensive rebounds and go 31-for-46 from the free throw line. 

Eight different players scored in double figures, led by Logan White with 29 points. White went 7-for-13 from beyond the arc and added five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Cosrick McDonald was solid with 17 points and eight rebounds in just 15 minutes of action while Alex Homkey added 11 points, five rebounds and three steals. Tyler Ackley added a team-high ten assists and seven points while swiping two steals and turning it over only twice. 

Joel DeMadet led NEC five players in double figures with 21 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Jonathan Byrnes added 13 points  while Shannon Murphy added 11 points and three assists. Terrance Thompson and Robin Wilson both chipped in with 11 points apiece. 

Castleton jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of threes from White in the opening 50 seconds. Five minutes later the Spartans pushed their lead to 22-6 on another triple from White. The Pilgrims pulled within 12 on a pair of DeMadet free throws with 11:04 left, but an Ackley three jumpstarted a 15-2 run to extend the Spartan advantage to 45-20 at 7:04. Castleton continued to push the pace and White outscored NEC 8-3 in the final 50 seconds of the half to give the team a 70-45 lead at the break. 

White drilled his seventh trey just seven seconds into the half on a nice feed from Carnelius Green. A jump shot from Chad Copeland made it a 30-point game at 17:23 and Rob Coloutti followed 22 seconds later with an emphatic dunk in transition to push the lead to 84-52. Castleton surpassed the century mark with 12:22 remaining on a layup from Casey McGraw and White followed with a fastbreak layup for the 103-64 lead. The Spartans subbed liberally over the final ten minutes and their lead climbed as high as 44 before finishing with the 40-point win. 

Copeland was limited to 13 minutes due to foul trouble but still recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Green was solid with ten points, eight rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers. Coloutti finished with 12 points and two assists while Brandon Bergeron had a balanced line of five points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals. 

Castleton now advances to play No. 6 seed Maine Farmington in the NAC Semifinals on Friday at 6 pm at top seed Husson. The Beavers upset third-seeded Colby-Sawyer 80-61.