Castleton, Vt. – It was a shooting display from downtown as Castleton went a ridiculous 18-for-36 from long range to surge past New England College 108-74 in their North Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday in Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans shot exactly 50 percent from beyond the arc in each half and scored 59 second-half points on 59.5 percent shooting to improve to 2-3 overall. Castleton held the Pilgrims to just 32.9 percent from the floor and 1-for-12 from three as NEC dropped to 3-4 and 0-1 in the NAC.
In addition to the season-high 18 threes the Spartans had 30 assists on their 40 field goals and all 15 Castleton players scored or dished off an assist. Logan White led the barrage with six triples and finished with 22 points. Chad Copeland did his work down low to the tune of 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Carnelius Green added 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Robin Wilson led NEC with an impressive double-double of 24 points and 15 rebounds, adding three steals as well. Jonathan Byrnes and Dezron Wilson each reached double figures with 13 points apiece. Ryan Schmitz added five rebounds, three assists and two points.
It was back and forth through the opening five minutes as a triple from White tied the game up at 10 apiece at 14:54. The three from White jumpstarted a 10-0 run, putting the Spartans in from 17-10. NEC scored four straight, but a shot from downtown by Casey McGraw extended the lead to 20-14 with 12:39 left. Green followed with a three of his own two minutes later and a pair of Copeland free throws pushed the Castleton advantage to 25-13 with 10:29 left.
The Pilgrims came back with seven consecutive points to cut the Spartan lead to 25-20 at 8:11; however, a White triple spearheaded seven quick points to make it a 12-point game once again. Castleton extended its lead as high as 18 on back-to-back layups by Copeland and Chad Pulver with 2:42 left. NEC managed to cut into the Spartan lead and a 4-2 run at the period made it 55-45.
Castleton opened the second half on a 12-4 run over the first four minutes to extend its lead to 67-49. The Pilgrims managed to cut it down to 14 twice, before seven straight points, punctuated by a Copeland dunk off a feed from Green, pushed the Spartan advantage to 79-56 with 11:25 left in the game.
NEC was unable to get any closer than 20 the rest of the way and Castleton eventually extended their lead to 31 on a triple in the corner from Doug Krouse with 5:39 remaining. Despite subbing liberally over the last six minutes, the Spartans saw their lead climb as high as 35 on a layup byDonell Stephenson before finishing with a 34-point win.
Tyler Ackley dished off a team-high nine assists while scoring eight points and Brandon Bergeroncame off the bench to hand out five helpers. Freshman Paul Flynn added eight points and one assist in just six minutes while Rob Pinnock chipped in with three assists, three rebounds and one steal.
The Spartans return to action when they travel to face MCLA on Tuesday at 7 pm.