BENNINGTON, Vt. – Castleton had its chances late, but a turnover in the final ten seconds proved to be the difference as Southern Vermont came away with a 72-68 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
Chad Copeland hit a pair of free throws with ten seconds left to pull the Spartans within one, 69-68. Castleton fouled and Casey Hall made consecutive free throws to push it to a three-point game with just eight seconds remaining. The team's hope at a tying bucket was squashed as a miscommunication on the ensuing inbound pass gave the Mountaineers back the ball. Another free throw made it a four-point game and last-second three from Rob Coloutti was blocked for the 72-68 final.
Castleton shot an impressive 48.1 percent from the floor and held Southern Vt. to 45.0 percent shooting but gave up 16 offensive rebounds and 20 second chance points as the Spartans dropped to 2-2. The Mountaineers outrebounded Castleton 37-26 as they improved to 3-2 overall.
Copeland surpassed the 20-point plateau for the third straight game, scoring 26 points on 11-for-20 shooting. He also added five rebounds and two steals. Coloutti was in double figures with 11 points while Carnelius Green added 11 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block.
Nate Goldsmith came off the bench to score 16 points with five rebounds and four assists while Casey Hall added 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Antoine White was also in double figures with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Castleton jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the opening four minutes and led 18-8 on a Copeland jump shot with 13:03 left. The Mountaineers responded with 11 consecutive points to take a 19-18 lead.Alexander Homkey ended the run at 9:27 to give the Spartans back the lead. The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, before six straight gave Castleton a 36-32 advantage. A 7-2 run by Southern Vt. made it 39-38 in favor of the home team at the break.
The Spartans took a lead back early in the second half as neither team could extend its lead by more than one possession over the first nine minutes. The Mountaineers eventually went on a 12-5 run to pull in front 60-55 with 8:08 left. Casey McGraw finally gave Castleton back the lead, 62-61, on a layup with 5:50 remaining. However, four straight points put Southern Vt. back in front. The Spartans closed within one at 65-64 and then 67-66 on scores by Copeland but couldn't draw even in the final minute on the way to a four-point loss.
Castleton returns to action on Wednesday when the team opens conference play against Lyndon at 7:30 pm