CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans trailed by just eight points at the half but went cold from the field in the final 20 minutes and Middlebury pulled away for a 94-56 victory on Tuesday evening in Glenbrook Gym.
Castleton connected on 44.1 percent of its shots in the opening half but went just 3-for-28 in the second and were outrebounded 59-37 overall to drop to 4-7 on the season. The Panthers shot 43.2 percent for the game and recorded 26 second-chance points, most of which came in the second half, to improve to 10-2 overall. They also recorded assists on 26 of their 32 field goals.
Chad Copeland led two players in double figures for the Spartans, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight rebounds while Rob Coloutti added 11 points, and five boards. Carnelius Green chipped in with seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals while Tondi Mushandu went for nine points and four assists without a turnover.
Three players scored in double figures for Middlebury, led by Connor Huff with 20 points and eight rebounds. Dylan Sinnickson added 17 points and nine rebounds while Matt St. Amour recorded ten points and five assists. Jake Brown didn't score but had nine assists and seven rebounds.
Both teams came out hot and after falling behind 12-7 early the Spartans went on a 7-0 run to pull in front 14-12, on by a Coloutti triple with 13:22 left in the half. Sinnickson tied the game up 18 seconds later and the two teams traded baskets until a free throw from Mushandu pulled Castleton within one, 20-19 with 9:00 minutes remaining. Middlebury pushed its lead to six, 29-23, but another three from Coloutti kept it close, 26-26, at 6:23.
The Panthers tried to extend their advantage against the Spartans, but Coloutti connected on another triple with 4:45 left to make it 34-31. However, Sinnickson responded with a shot from beyond the arc seven seconds later to jump-start a 12-2 spurt give Middlebury a 46-33 lead with 2:11 left. Castleton did score the final five points of the half to trail just 46-38 at the break.
Just 1:21 into the second half a triple from Green closed the game to 48-41. However, the Spartans missed their next shot and Middlebury responded with the next 13 points, punctuated by an alley-oop from Brown to Sinnickson. Mushandu ended the run at 14:32 to cut the deficit to 61-43, but a 12-3 run over the next six minutes pushed the Panther advantage to 73-46 with 8:29 left. Both teams subbed liberally over the final eight minutes as Middlebury slowly extended its lead and finished with the 94-56 win.
The Spartans return to action on Thursday when they host Johnson St. at 7:30 pm in Glenbrook Gym.