CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans started slow but put the game away midway through the second half with a 14-4 run on the way to a 96-80 victory over MCLA in Glenbrook Gym on Friday evening.
Castleton shot an even 50.0 percent from the field and finished 8-for-20 from beyond the arc in its home opener as raucous crowd provided a definite home court advantage. The defense held the Trailblazers to 39.2 percent from the floor and just 5-for-26 from downtown. The Spartans also recorded assists on 22 of their 30 field goals and outrebounded MCLA 46-43.
Junior Chad Copeland was a beast inside, shooting 13-for-17 for 28 points, ten rebounds and two blocks in just 26 minutes. Rob Coloutti added 16 points with four threes and eight rebounds while freshman Tondi Mushandu impressed with 11 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals.Carnelius Green was in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Khalil Paul led the Trailblazers with 21 points and eight rebounds while Tyriq Rochester chipped in with 17 points, two rebounds and two steals. Todd Hunt added 11 points and six rebounds while Ruben Delrosario dished off eight assists and had two steals.
It was back-and-forth early, with an Adam Conquest layup giving MCLA an 11-10 lead at 13:58.Alexander Homkey and Chad Pulver scored five straight to take the lead and Castleton eventually extended it to 25-17 on back-to-back layups by Carnelius Green with 7:33 left in the half. Conquest then hit a free throw but a three from Mushandu jumpstarted a 13-2 run to put the Spartans in front 38-20 with 4:05 remaining. The Trailblazers cut the deficit to 43-29 with 1:06 left and a 4-3 advantage in the final minute made it 46-33 at the break.
A 4-2 run by Paul trimmed the lead to just 48-37, but a 7-3 Castleton run brought it back to a 15-point game with 16:22 remaining. Paul momentarily stopped the run with a jumper, but an 11-4 run over the next three minutes pushed the Spartan lead to 20 at 66-46 on a Copeland layup. MCLA cut the lead to 15 at 10:27, but a 9-3 spurt extended the Castleton advantage to 75-54 at 8:19. The Spartans stretched their lead as high as 23 two minutes later and subbed liberally over the final five minutes as the Trailblazers never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Freshman Pavin Parrish was also in double figures with 14 points, including a 12-for-14 effort from the free throw line. It is the most made free throws by a Spartan since Ray Daley went 16-for-18 against Lyndon St. in 2005. Parrish also added five assists and three rebounds but did turn it over five times. Chad Pulver chipped in with four points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday when they host Plymouth St. at 7:30 pm in Glenbrook Gym.