Worcester, Mass. – Castleton was unable to get its offense going in its season-opener, falling to a tough Worcester Polytechnic Institute team 88-75 on Thursday night.

The Spartans shot 43 percent, but only 9-for-28 from behind the arc in falling to 0-1 on the season. The Engineers shot an even 50 percent in the contest, going 31-for-62 from the field as they improve to 1-0.

Logan White led the Castleton attack with 27 points, making 11-of-13 shots, including five three pointers, to go along with five rebounds and one steal. Mark Comstock was the only other player to reach double figures, scoring 11 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Chris Barletta led the team with four assists and turned the ball over just once.

The Engineers and Spartans traded baskets over the game's first five minutes, leaving the visitors trailing by a point, 7-6. WPI pushed the lead to 17-12 with 13:04 left; though buckets by Chad Pulver and Jeremy Odena made it 17-16 just 1:15 later, prompting an Engineer timeout.

Out of the break, WPI responded with an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to 25-16. Castleton tried to get closer, and eventually cut the deficit to six, 29-23, on a pair of Comstock free throws with 6:04 remaining. The Engineers pushed their advantage to ten points and used a 6-1 run over the final 2:32 of the half to go into the break with a 45-32 lead.

In the second half Castleton outscored WPI 9-4 in the first 3:07 of action to draw within six, 49-43. The Spartans then had multiple chances to get it closer, but the Engineers scored at the 14:06 mark to make it 51-43.

The Spartans didn't fold, pulling within five twice during a minute span midway through the half. However, nine straight by WPI stretched the lead to 14, 67-53, and Castleton wouldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way.

For the Engineers, Marco Coppola led the team with 33 points and 10 rebounds while Sam Longwell added 21 points and seven boards.

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 20 when the team hosts Plymouth St. at 7:30 pm in Glenbrook Gym.