CASTLETON, Vt. – With 10 seconds remaining, Castleton junior guard Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla.) buried the game-winning three-point shot from the left wing to give the Spartans a 60-57 win over the University of Maine-Farmington in its North Atlantic Conference (NAC) season opener on Friday night at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

Castleton improves to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in NAC play. The Beavers fall to 4-8 and 0-2 in the conference.

Senior guard Mike Knight (Spring Valley, N.Y.) filled up the stat sheet for the Spartans leading the squad in points with 13 while dishing a team-high six assists and bringing down a team-high seven rebounds. Greg Hughes (W. Rutland, Vt.) chipped with 10 points with six coming from behind the arc. Sophomore swingman Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) added eight points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Paul finished with nine points, all on three-pointers (3-for-5).

For Farmington, Eric Taylor (Oakland, Maine) led all scorers with 24 points on 11-for-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. The senior forward also corralled a team-high seven caroms (four offensive). Pet Sumner (Cramerton, N.C.) also scored in double-digits notching 11 points, nine coming from long distance, and three rebounds. Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine) added seven points and six rebounds (three offensive).

Tied 57-57 with 22 seconds remaining, Paul slipped off a screen into the left wing and Knight eventually found Paul who canned his third three-pointer of the night to make it 60-57.

After a timeout with eight seconds remaining, Farmington's senior guard Andrew Dean (Gorham, Maine) launched his seventh three-pointer of the night from the right wing but it connected off the back of the rim.

Castleton outrebounded the Beavers 35-29 in the contest, shot 92% from the free throw line (11-for-12) and had seven steals. Both teams had 12 turnovers while Farmington blocked four shots.

The Spartans return to action, tomorrow, against NAC foe, Thomas, at 4 p.m..