Johnson, Vt. – The Badgers' potential game-winning half-court heave fell short and the Spartans breathed a collective sigh of relief as they came away with the 80-78 victory over Johnson St. on Thursday evening.
Tied at 75 with less than 40 seconds in regulation, Rob Coloutti found Logan White on the wing. The senior pump-faked an oncoming defender, stepped to his left and swished a triple for a three-point lead with just 31 seconds left. The Badgers missed a three on their next possession and Chad Pulverwas fouled trying to collect the rebound. Pulver calmed drilled both free throws for the 80-75 advantage with only 13 seconds remaining.
Johnson St. wouldn't go down quietly as Lester Alexander connected on a desperation three-pointer from the wing while falling down to close the deficit to just two, with 2.7 seconds left. The Badgers fouled Chad Copeland before the ball was inbounded for a one-and-one opportunity. His first shot clanged off the rim and Asim Khan grabbed the board but his half-court attempt fell short at the buzzer.
Castleton shot 48.3 percent from the floor and 43.5 from downtown as the team improved to 7-5 overall and 5-1 in the North Atlantic Conference. The Badgers made 42.5 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 35-29 as they dropped to 2-9 overall and 0-7 in conference action.
Carnelius Green led the Spartans with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Copeland added 11 points and eight rebounds while Pulver had 13 points and five rebounds. Logan White chipped in with 12 points and three triples off the bench.
Asim Khan was impressive with 19 points, ten rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Bryan Hickey added 18 points and eight rebounds while Ron Adrian had 15 points and four assists.
Castleton jumped out to a 13-4 lead over the first four minutes and made it 20-11 at 12:48 on back-to-back layups by Green and Alex Homkey. Johnson St. tied it up two minutes later on a 13-4 run and Hickey gave the Badgers a 26-24 lead with 10:11 left.
One minute later Johnson St. pushed its lead to 32-26. However, the Spartans responded with 11 consecutive points including a three from Casey McGraw and four straight points by Green to give them a 37-32 lead at 5:26. The final five minutes was back and forth before back-to-back threes by Green and Pulver made it 45-41 at the half.
The teams traded baskets over the first six minutes of the second half before Alexander hit a pair of three throws to tie the game at 56-56 at 13:52. Neither team could gain a lead greater than seven until Copeland converted a three-point play for the 72-65 lead with 4:17 left. However, the Badgers came back to tie it at 75 apiece with 1:06 left before White connected from long range.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday at 3 pm when they host Lyndon St.