New London, N.H. – Castleton opened the second half on a 27-5 run to break open a close game on the way to a 92-67 victory over Colby-Sawyer in North Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday night.
Tied 39-39 at the half, the Spartans used potent three-point shooting and an aggressive trapping defense to turn the game into a blowout as they improved to 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the NAC with the win. The Chargers, meanwhile, dropped to 4-6 and 3-1 in conference play with the loss.
Castleton shot 44.0 percent for the contest and made 13 of 35 three-point attempts while holding Colby-Sawyer to 33.8 percent overall and 22.2 percent shooting from downtown. The Spartans also forced 28 turnovers and swiped a season-high 21 steals.
Chad Copeland led four Castleton players in double figures with 18 points and also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Logan White chipped in with 16 points and three steals. Casey McGraw added a career-high 12 points while Chad Pulver had 11 points and five rebounds. Tyler Ackley was solid with eight points, five assists and four steals.
Koang Thok led the Chargers with 15 points and five rebounds while Wol Majong added 12 points and three rebounds but turned the ball over nine times. Peter Donato pulled down a team-high six rebounds and scored eight points.
The Spartans opened up the game with a 10-6 lead through the first four minutes, however, Colby-Sawyer came back to take a 17-16 lead on a back-to-back threes by Thok midway through the half.
It was back-and-forth for the final ten minutes of the half as neither team was able to get in a rhythm with numerous fouls and turnovers on both sides slowing the pace of play. A White free throw put Castleton in front 39-37 with 35 seconds left but a last-second layup by Zach Bean tied it 39 apiece at the break.
The Spartans came out firing, opening the second half on a 15-2 run in the first 3:42 to grab a 54-41 lead on a three by Ackley off an assist from Carnelius Green. Castleton kept pushing the pace and extended its advantage to 64-44 at 13:30 when Ackley found Rob Coloutti in the corner for a triple. Ackley followed with a layup to make it 66-44 less than a minute later.
Over the next three minutes the teams traded hoops, until a three from Doug Krouse pushed the lead 76-53. Four straight by Chad Copeland extended the Spartan advantage to 82-56 at 7:31 and Casey McGraw put Castleton up 30, 90-60 with 5:56 remaining. Both team subbed liberally over the final five minutes as the Spartans finished with the 25-point victory.
Ten different Castleton players scored and four hit at least two threes, while nine different players recorded at least one steal.
The Spartans return to action on Thursday when they travel to face Lyndon St. at 5:30 pm.