CASTLETON, Vt. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team erased a 15-point first-half deficit, using an 11-2 scoring run that broke the eighth and final tie and vaulted the Warriors to a 70-62 Little East Conference victory over VTSU Castleton Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium.
After losing its first six games on its opponent's floor, Eastern (5-18, 2-12 LEC) won for the second time in its last four road games. In gaining a split of the season series with Castleton (6-17, 2-12 LEC), Eastern pulls into a tie for eighth place in the standings with the Spartans, who have lost five straight after surprising Rhode Island College, 85-77, at home Jan. 20.
Castleton outscored Eastern 17-2 in the first half to move out to a 15-point, 22-7 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half, but the Warriors cut the gap to four at halftime, and never trailed after first-year guard Elijah Jean-Guillaume (New Haven) sank his only field goal of the game moments after entering play. Jean-Guillaume's three-pointer off an assist from classmate Esco Greene (New Britain) shot the Warriors into their first lead of the second half, 45-44, with 11 minutes left.
After Castleton freshman Adam Bilodeau's only field goal of the game – also a three-pointer – tied the game, the Warriors put the game in the win column with a decisive 11-2 run over four minutes. Sophomore guard Dominick Dao (Terryville) scored seven points in that stretch and finished with his third 20-point game in the last five outings with a game-high 22 points.
With the score tied at 55, a quick six straight points created separation and lifted the Warriors into a six-point, 61-55 lead with 2:26 left, and that lead did not dip under four the rest of the way. Dao started it with a jumper, then stole the ball and scored again on an assist from junior forward Sheriff Bilewu (Waterbury) that made it 59-55. Following a Castleton timeout, Bilewu scored inside on a pass from first-year sophomore transfer Michael Carothers (Queens, NY) with 2:26 left, and after the hosts got two back, Dao more or less sealed the deal with his fourth three-point field goal of the game that made it a seven-point margin, 64-57, with 1:39 left. Carothers, playing in his sixth game at Eastern since leaving Keene State College, converted four free throws and senior guard Cade Ensinger (Deep River) scored inside to help the Warriors preserve the lead over the final 63 seconds.
Bilewu, first-year senior Cam Stiepock (Glastonbury) and Carothers all made the first starts of the season, averaging 26 minutes each. Stiepock had nine points on three-pointers, Bilewu a game-high ten rebounds to go along with four points (2-of-2 FG), three assists, two steals and a blocked shot, and Carothers four points (4-of-5 FT), five assists and two steals.
First-year junior transfer Ty Calloway (Enfield) followed Dao with ten points (5-of-6 FG) and grabbed five rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
After missing 20 of 21 three-pointers in Wednesday's LEC home loss, Eastern canned 11 of 28 against Castleton, getting contributions from six different players.
Graduate guard Joe Russell, who fueled Castleton's 75-68 win over Eastern Jan. 11 at Geissler Gym with a game-high 25 points (11of-15 FG), led the Sparans with 16 points and seven assists, with junior guard Leonard Brice adding 15 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting.
After scoring 19 points off 23 Castleton turnovers in the first meeting, the Warriors converted 25 more Spartan turnovers into 25 points this time.
Eastern visits Rhode Island College (13-10, 6-8 LEC) Wednesday and closes out the season next Saturday hosting Plymouth State University (8-14, 4-9 LEC) at 1 p.m. The Warriors dropped an 85-52 decision to RIC Jan. 17 at Geissler Gymnasium and pulled out a dramatic 72-71 overtime win at Plymouth State Jan. 13 for its first LEC win.