Bangor, Maine - For the first time since 2011, the North Atlantic Conference championship game will not feature the Spartans. Castleton saw their playoff dreams fall short as they were upended by sixth-seeded Maine-Farmington 107-97 in the NAC semifinals on Friday night at Husson University.
Chad Copeland finished with a game-high 24 points to lead the Spartan offense, which saw five players finish with double-digit scoring performances. Carneilius Green put up 20 points, Troy Davine finished with 16, Logan White with 15 and Rob Coloutti with 11, but it wasn't enough to push the Spartans past the Beavers.
Ben Johnson finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, recording his fifth straight double-double, to lead the Beavers. Andrew Dickey finished with 19 points and Sam Leal chipped in with 18 as the sixth seed Maine-Farmington continued their "Cinderella Story" through the NAC tournament.
The teams traded baskets to begin the game, but Maine-Farmington jumped out to a 12-6 lead on a Leal three-pointer 3:44 into the contest. A pair of Troy Davine free throws cut the lead to 15-11, but an 11-5 run by the Beavers put the sixth-seed ahead 26-16 eight minutes into the game.
Castleton forced their way back into the game over the next four minutes, cutting the lead to just three after Logan White drilled a shot from long distance with 8:04 remaining in the first half. The Spartans continued chipping away at the Beavers' lead and overtook UMF with 1:13 remaining on a Copeland layup that made it 45-44. Uriah Forest-Bulley knocked down a pair of free throws for the Beavers to give them a 46-45 at the halftime break.
In the second half, Copeland and Tyler Ackley each knocked down a pair of buckets for the Spartans, propelling the offense in the first two minutes of play. The Beavers responded though, evening the score at 53-53 with a jumper from Nate Carson 2:02 into the frame.
A pair of free throws from Copeland gave the Spartans a lead again, but an 8-0 run from the Beavers led by Forest-Bulley lifted the Beavers to a 61-55 lead just over five minutes into the frame. Over the next five minutes the Spartans would battle back, taking a 71-70 lead on a jumper by Carneilius Green with 9:53 remaining in the game.
Garrett Clemmer responded for the Beavers, sinking back-to-back three-point shots to put the underdogs ahead yet again, this time for good. Castleton trailed 76-71 with 8:56 remaining in the game, and would never regain the lead.
The Spartans drew within five, pulling the score to 97-92 with 2:02 remaining, but failed to complete an epic comeback as Maine-Farmington finished the game shooting 10-for-12 from the foul line in the final two minutes.
The Beavers finished the game shooting 51.5% from the floor and earned 43 foul shots over the course of the game. Castleton shot just 43.4% from the floor and got to the line only 14 times.
Maine-Farmington will advance to the NAC championship where they will face top-seeded Husson with an NCAA tournament berth on the line. Castleton's season ends with a 19-8 record, matching the program's best record during coach Paul Culpo's tenure and marks the team's best winning percentage (.704).