CASTLETON, Vt. – In a wild back-and-forth affair featuring five 20-point scorers and a triple double, it was Castleton who made enough plays down the stretch to come away with a 113-104 victory over Lyndon St. on Saturday afternoon in Glenbrook Gym.
Both teams pushed the pace all day long as the Spartans surpassed the century mark with more than five minutes left in regulation on the way to a season-high 113 points. Chad Copeland led five players in double figures with 27 points, ten rebounds and four blocks while Lyndon's JoJo Woodruff put forth the most impressive stat line of the day with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and just three turnovers.
Castleton shot 49.4 percent from the floor and held a ten-point edge in second chance points as the team improved 8-5 overall and 6-1 in the North Atlantic Conference. The Hornets actually connected on 50.6 percent from the field, but were outrebounded 50-46 as they dropped to 4-11 and 4-4 in conference play.
Senior Logan White was right behind Copeland with 26 points, including five shots from beyond the arc and a season-high five steals. Steve Rosemond came off the bench to supply 17 points and four rebounds in just 16 minutes of action, while Chad Pulver bullied his way to 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Tyler Ackley dished off a career-high 11 assists to facilitate the offense.
Woodruff's main target on the afternoon was David Johnson, who hit five threes and scored 26 points while handing out six assists, though he turned the ball over eight times. Iser Barnes was impressive off the bench with 20 points and seven rebounds. George Carle added 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Castleton fell behind early but used a 10-2 run to grab a 12-8 advantage off a three from Rob Colouttiwith 14:55 left. The Spartans extended their lead to 20-13 on a Troy Davine layup at 12:05 and three minutes later Rosemond scored to make it 30-20.
Lyndon St. countered with nine consecutive points to pull within one at 7:27 and then grabbed a 33-32 lead on a Barnes jumper with 5:50 left. The two teams traded buckets until a 7-3 run put Castleton back in front 51-45 at 1:50. Two free throws from Doug Krouse with five seconds left gave the Spartans a 56-49 lead at the break.
Castleton came out firing in the second half, going on a 10-4 run over the first 2:17 for a 66-53 lead. Lyndon St. came back to close within four at 13:58 on a layup by Woodruff, but an 8-2 run by White put the Spartans back in front by ten. Copeland followed with five straight points for an 86-71 advantage with 12:06 left.
Less than three minutes later, Johnson cut the Castleton lead to nine on a triple, though seven consecutive from the Spartans gave them a 98-82 lead with 6:07 remaining. After going up 106-90 with 2:43 left, Castleton allowed the Hornets to pull within nine. However, the Spartans held off Lyndon St. to finish with the nine-point victory despite giving up the final five points.
Castleton returns to action on Tuesday when the team travels to face New England College at 7:30 pm.