CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans withstood a charge in late in the second half with some clutch free throw shooting and strong defense on their way to a 93-83 victory over the University of Maine at Farmington on Friday evening in North Atlantic Conference action.

Senior Tyler Ackley went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the last 70 seconds of play to keep the Beavers from mounting a last-second comeback as Castleton won its sixth straight game to improve to 10-5 overall and 8-1 in conference play. UMF shot 40.8 percent from the floor but went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc in the final minute to fall to 6-9 overall and 4-5 in the NAC.

The Spartans shot 41.7 percent from the floor overall and connected on ten shots from downtown. They also committed a season-low eight turnovers while dishing out 15 assists. The Beavers went 8-for-31 from long range and outrebounded Castleton 49-45, but committed 11 turnovers which led to 14 Spartan points.

Sophomore Chad Copeland was solid in the middle with 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals while Logan White added 18 points, including five shots from beyond the arc.Steve Rosemond was in double figures with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench while Carnelius Green chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Chad Pulver dished off a team-high four assists to go along with six rebounds and four points.

White's 12th point on the evening gave him 1000 for his career and he finished the game with 1,006, becoming the 22nd player to score 1000 career points at Castleton. He also became just the third Spartan to make 200 three-point field goals with his five shots from behind the arc on Friday.

Andrew Dickey finished with a game-high 34 points and 11 rebounds for UMF. The senior shot 10-for-18 from the floor and made all ten of his free throws. Classmate Ben Johnson added 14 points and ten rebounds while Pet Sumner had 15 points and four assists.

Castleton opened the game on a 10-3 run following a jump shot from Copeland at 16:20. Three minutes later the Beavers cut it to 18-15 on a three from Sumner and Johnson followed with a pair of free throws with 13:03 left to slice the lead to one. The Spartans responded with a 7-3 run to push the lead back to five, however, four straight by UMF made it 25-24 midway through the half.

The teams continued to trade baskets over the next four minutes with Castleton always holding a slim lead. With 5:40 left, White hit a triple for the 36-32 lead but back-to-back hoops from UMF tied the game at 36 apiece. Just over two minutes later Sumner put the Beavers in front with a triple. However, Rosemond followed with one of his own just 15 seconds later and Troy Davine hit a layup for the 46-42 advantage at 2:37. The Spartans outscored UMF 9-4 over the final two minutes for the 55-46 lead at the break.

Castleton scored the first six points of the second half to stretch its lead to 61-48 in just 1:38. The Beavers withstood the run and used an 11-0 spurt over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to three, 62-59. White ended the run with a free throw and Copeland made a layup for a 65-59 lead at 12:33. After trading shots the Spartans went on an 8-2 run to extend their advantage to 77-68 with 7:07 left.

Dickey connected on a pair of three throws to make it 77-70, but six consecutive points pushed the Castleton lead to 83-70 with 5:06 left. Over the final five minutes, UMF didn't get any closer than nine as the Spartans went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the last 70 seconds to hold the Beavers off and earn the ten-point victory.

Castleton returns to action on Saturday at 1 pm when the Spartans host Thomas.