Castleton, VT-Junior guard Josh Howe poured in a game high 34 points, grabbed five rebounds and collected five steals to lead Castleton to an 84-82 victory over Becker College in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play.

Howe had 18 points in the first half, including his 1,000th career point midway through, to give the Spartans a 43-36 lead at halftime.

Becker's Travis Suber knocked in 18 first-half points en route to a team high 27 to go along with 10 assists on the game.

The Hawks opened the second half with a 15-0 run to take a nine point lead just three minutes into the half. Back-to-back three pointers from Howe and Kevin Cayea brought the Spartans back to within three, and the teams would be locked in a battle for the final 15 minutes of action.

Castleton took the lead for good with 10 minutes remaining but never led by more than eight. Trey Jacobs would cut the lead to two with just over one minute remaining at 82-80. Howe knocked in 2 of 4 free throws down the stretch sandwiched around a pair of free throws from Becker's Kevin Miranda for the final margin. Jacobs had an attempt at a lay up at the buzzer, but Howe was able to deflect it out of bounds as time expired.

Jacobs and Miranda each found double-figures for the 11-13 (7-5 NAC) Hawks as the duo combined for 28 second half points. Jacobs finished with 18 while Miranda had 20 on the game.

Richard Reilly and Chris Young each turned in double-double performances on the afternoon. For Young it was his fifth consecutive double-double as he scored 15 and hauled in 11 rebounds. Reilly tallied 18 points and dished out 11 assists, including the 528th of his career, a new Castleton record.

Becker will wrap up its regular season at Wheelock College on February 19, tip-off at 8:00 pm.

Castleton is likewise in action on the 19th as they play host to Green Mountain College at 7:30 pm.