North Adams, Mass. – Junior Carnelius Green stole the ball with two seconds left and converted a layup at the buzzer to lift the Spartans to an 83-81 victory over MCLA on Tuesday evening.
Tied at 81 with 13 seconds left, the Trailblazers took the ball out of bounds with the intent of taking the last shot. Ruben Delrosario received the ball and tried to set up a final play, however, he was pressured just inside the three-point line and tried to bring it back to halfcourt, but Green knocked the ball loose from behind. The junior beat everyone else to the ball, collected it at the top of the Castleton key and put in the layup as time expired for the game-winner.
Castleton improves to 3-3 with the victory while MCLA drops to 2-7 on the year. The Spartans shot just 8-for-30 from beyond the arc and were outrebounded 47-36, but did manage to record 18 points off turnovers compared to just eight for the Trailblazers. MCLA shot 44.3 percent from the field in the contest but just 24.0 percent from downtown.
Green led the Spartans with 22 points on 10 of 11 shooting and added five rebounds, three steals and five rebounds. Chad Copeland and Logan White each chipped in with 14 points while Rob Colouttiadded 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Steve Rosemond had just seven points but did record three assists and two blocks.
John Jones was a beast inside for MCLA, pulling down nine offensive rebounds and 18 total, as well as scoring a team-high 22 points. Anthony Barbosa added 17 points and six rebounds while Delrosario and Ramon Viches were also in double figures with 13 points apiece.
The Spartans opened the game on an 11-4 through the first five minutes. Castleton pushed the lead to eight, 15-7, but six straight by the Trailblazers closed the gap to 15-13 with 11:22 remaining. It was back-and-forth until a 6-2 run by the Spartans, punctuated by a pair of Green layups made its 26-18 at 9:13.
Castleton extended its advantage to nine on a pair of Alex Homkey free throws with 5:49 left. However, MCLA pounded the offensive glass and eventually cut it to 35-33 at 2:24 with a John Jones layup after he rebounded his own miss. Green hit a tough layup on the team's next possession and after another Jones layup, Casey McGraw hit a three for the 40-35 lead. Homkey made it 42-35 with 46 seconds off a nice lead pass from Green after he stole the ball as Castleton went into the break with a seven-point lead.
In the second half, Castleton seemed to be in complete control, taking a 16-point lead on a Coloutti triple with fourteen minutes to play. MCLA slowly chipped away at the lead, using a 10-0 run, capped off by an Anthony Barbosa three pointer, to close the gap to 59-53 with 11:42 remaining.
Castleton answered again, moving back out to a double digit lead at 72-62 before the Trailblazers made their final comeback attempt. MCLA used an 11-4 spurt to get within three points on a pair of Jones free throws with three minutes left to play.
Viches then scored five straight points for the Trailblazers to pull within one, and after a Green jumper moved the lead back to three points, MCLA tied it at 81 on a Delrosario layup. On Castleton's ensuing possession, Green got tied up by Tyshawn McGee, giving the Trailblazers a chance to take the final shot with under 30 seconds left. However, the junior made up for turnover with his game-winning bucket just second later.
The Spartans return to action on Friday at 5:30 pm when they host Maine Maritime in Glenbrook Gym.