Castleton, VT - Cesar Martinez's lay-in with 14 seconds remaining proved to be the winning basket as Castleton fell to visiting Lyndon State 73-71 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's basketball action at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

In a back-and-forth battle that featured 13 lead changes, it was fitting that it came down to a succession of exciting plays to end the game. After Lyndon State's Ben Sackett sank 1-of-2 free throws with 38 seconds remaining, the Hornets called a timeout to set their defense. The full-court pressure, backfired as Marcus Hass was able to run out unguarded and receive a full-court pass from Kevin Cayea for the go-ahead dunk. Lyndon then missed a three-pointer, but Liam Smith's offense rebound set up Martinez for a lay-up to make it 72-71. Castleton's Seth Harrington had a good look at a three-point attempt, but it went begging and Smith was able to grab the rebound and sink 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled. Castleton's last ditch effort at a 'Hail-Mary' was not to be and Lyndon escaped with the thrilling win.

Lyndon State led 28-15 with 5:38 remaining in the first half, but Castleton closed out the half on a 16-4 run to cut it to 32-31 at halftime. The second half was back-and-forth throughout, with neither team leading by more than five.

Brad Durr paced the 6-4 (2-0 NAC) Hornets with 30 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Martinez followed Durr in the scoring column with 19, to go along with seven rebounds, while Sackett and Smith each added 11.

Harrington led Castleton with 25 points, while Kevin Cayea chipped in 17. Andrew Roemer added 12 off the bench for the 1-12 (0-2 NAC) Spartans.

The Hornets will travel to Thomas College Friday evening for an 8:00 pm NAC match-up, followed by a Saturday afternoon matinee at University of Maine-Farmington starting at 4:00 pm.

Castleton is likewise in Maine for a conference weekend, taking on Maine Maritime Academy at 8:00 on Friday and Husson University at 4:00 on Saturday.