CASTLETON, Vt. – Sophomore swingman Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) scored 10 points, grabbed one rebound and had one steal in the final 3:25 of the second half to lead Castleton over Thomas, 85-76, in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

The Spartans improve to 6-6 overall and remain perfect in NAC play at 2-0. The Terriers fall to 6-6 and 2-1 in the NAC.

Comstock led all Castleton scorers with 20 points on the afternoon shooting 4-for-9 from the field, 1-for-1 from three point range and 11-for-14 from the line. He also added four rebounds (two offensive), three assists and two steals. Senior guard Mike Knight (Spring Valley, N.Y.) poured in 18 points (8-for-12 fg) brought down three caroms, dished out two assists and had two steals. Greg Hughes (W. Rutland, Vt.) and Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla.) also scored in double-digits as Hughes notched 14, including two 3-pointers, while Paul tallied 15 going 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.

For Thomas, Jarrad DeVaughn (Brockton, Mass.) scored a game-high 25 points shooting 9-for-22 from the field and 7-for-12 from the line. The sophomore guard also brought down six rebounds (five offensive) had one assist and two steals. Senior guard Andrew Duncanson (Portland, Maine) was second in scoring with 18 points, including two 3-pointers, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Travis Dorsey (Clinton, Maine) contributed with six rebounds, two points and three assists.

With three and half minutes remaining, Comstock drilled a three-pointer at 3:25 to push the gap to 76-67 and then the sophomore swingman took over.

After a three-pointer by Isaiah Brathwaite (Farmington, Maine) made the score 76-72, it was all Comstock who nailed a tightly contested layup at 2:17 to make it 78-72. DeVaughn cut the deficit back to four points with a tough bucket in the lane at 1:59 for a 78-74 score, but Comstock went to the line six times during the remainder of regulation making five-out-of-six to close out the game.

Castleton only led by two points at halftime, 42-40, thanks to a beautifully orchestrated and well run play with just seven seconds remaining. Inbounding the ball from their own baseline, Keith Schneider (Benson, Vt.) baseball-passed the ball to Comstock at center court. Then, Comstock kicked the ball to Paul on the left wing, and with Hughes cutting to the basket, Paul fed Hughes for the buzzer-beater layup to take a two point lead into halftime.

Despite being outrebounded on the glass 42-34 including 20 offensive rebounds by Thomas, the Spartans shot 54.0% from the field (27-of-50) and 45.5% from long distance (5-for-11) in the win.

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday, January 18 at 7:30 pm at home against Johnson St. in NAC action.