Nashua, NH – Daniel Webster and Castleton State had never met in men's basketball until Thursday night at the Mario Vagge Gymnasium. If the first meeting is any indication, it could turn into a regional rivalry.
Castleton's sophomore guard Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) drew a foul inside and sank both free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining in overtime and the Spartans pulled out a wild, 75-74 victory over the host Eagles in a non conference matchup that, after an uncommonly quick opening half, took on a playoff atmosphere by the time the dust had cleared.
Comstock, who finished tied with teammate and junior Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla.) for the game high with 22 points, pulled in a team best 11 rebounds and knocked down 12 points in the second half including the game-tying layup that forced overtime with 1:16 left in regulation. He would add his only two of extra session at the line as the Spartans (9-7) won for the fifth time in their last six outings.
Senior Eric Suarez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced a trio of Eagles (9-7) in double figures with 15 points including eight boards, while senior Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) added a double double of 14 points and 11 caroms.
Rookie Daris Cosby (Columbia, S.C.) added 13 points for DWC while sophomore Keith Speed (Columbus, Ohio) and senior Chris Voukides (Salem, N.H.) notched nine points apiece. John Hickson (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with eight points off the bench.
Tied at 66 going into extra time, the teams forged three ties before a monster four-point play from David Cochrane (Virginia Beach, Va.) put the visitors ahead, 73-69 with 1:57 left.
Hanson answered from downtown 20 ticks later and Speed would pull the hosts back in front, burying two at the line with 39 seconds to go.
But Comstock took a pass from Cochrane and drove in low to draw the foul for the eventual game winner while Speed's deep try as time expired just missed.
The Eagles had led by as many as nine in the second half and were up by eight (64-56) with 4:01 left but Castleton shut DWC's offense down, closing regulation with an 8-0 run keyed by a huge Cochrane jumper with 2:02 to go for a two-point game before Comstock would tie it with his layup.
The back-and-forth second frame was in stark contrast to an opening stanza that was completed in just 29 minutes as the teams combined for just eight fouls and DWC took a 37-30 lead into the break.
The Spartans would finish with edges inside in rebounding (38-34) and points in the paint (34-30) but rode their bench to a huge advantage (47-14) keyed by Paul, Cochrane's 10 points and nine points and six boards from Keith Schnieder (Benson, Vt.).
The Eagles get back to work on Saturday when they visit Becker College in a pivotal NECC matchup tipping off at 1:00 p.m.
Castleton hosts Lyndon State Saturday in a North Atlantic matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.