BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Castleton State College men's basketball team held a 10-point lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game, but a 16-2 run over the next five minutes pushed Southern Vermont College to an 80-72 win in non-conference action Tuesday evening at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

A Matt Cooney (Washingtonville, N.Y.) three-pointer put the Spartans ahead 57-47 with 12:38 remaining in the contest, but Taeshon Johnson (Pittsfield, Mass.) answered with a three-pointer of his own, igniting the 16-2 surge that gave the Mountaineers the lead for good. Avery Mitchell (Schenectady, N.Y.) had a pair of three-pointers and Derrick Cenicola (Hamilton, N.Y.) canned one from deep that gave Southern Vermont the lead for good at 60-59 with 8:50 remaining.

Johnson finished with a game-hgih 25 points, while Mitchell added 22 and Cenicola 17. The Mountaineers canned 10-of-22 attempts from beyond the three-point stripe, including four from Mitchell and three from Lance Spratling (Pittsfield, Mass.) who finished with 11 points and a game-high eight assists. Mitchell added 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double, and Ben Naaktgeboren (Cambridge, N.Y.) hauled in a game-high 17 boards for the 8-5 Mountaineers.

Mike Knight (Spring Valley, N.Y.) tossed in a team-high 17 points and grabbed eigh tboards to pace the Spartans, who fall to 4-6 on the season. Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the losing effort.

Castleton opens North Atlantic Conference play this weekend with home contests versus Maine-Farmington Friday at 8 pm, and Saturday versus Thomas at 4 pm.