CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton men's basketball team started slow but used a full-court press to take control in the second half and finish with a 91-75 victory over New England College on Thursday night in Glenbrook Gymnasium.

The Spartans shot 40.8 percent from the field and hit 11 threes to improve to 7-5 overall and 5-1 in the North Atlantic Conference. The Pilgrims connected on 46.6 percent of their shots but turned the ball over 28 times as they fell to 1-12 and 1-6 in NAC action.

Four different players scored in double figures, led by Mark Comstock with 20 points. He also added seven rebounds and three assists. Logan White hit five triples and totaled 19 points while freshman Rob Coloutti added a career-high 13 and Dammy Mustapha chipped in with ten.

Jonathan Byrnes led NEC with 18 points and seven boards while Jaskin Melendez came off the bench to score 15 and pull down nine rebounds. Abdirahman Mohamed was also in double figures with 11 points and three steals.

Castleton couldn't find the net in the opening minutes and the Pilgrims took advantage, opening the game with an 11-4 run over the first 5:06. A 6-2 run closed the gap to three, but four straight extended the lead to seven with 12:09 left in the half. Castleton narrowed the NEC lead to 21-19 on a corner three by Coloutti, and Comstock added a layup at 8:23 to draw even at 21.

A layup by Melendez made it 23-21, but Chris Barletta followed at 7:01 with a layup to tie it up once again. On the ensuing play, the Spartan defense forced a turnover in the backcourt and Casey McGraw gave Castleton its first lead, 25-23, at 6:57.

Mohamed knotted it up 27 seconds later before three and an emphatic dunk by Mustapha pushed the Spartan advantage to five and started a 19-2 run by the Spartans, including 14 straight at one point. NEC managed to stop the run with a pair of free throws and scored the final six points of the half to make it 44-33 at the break.

Comstock led off the second with a layup and Tyler Ackley followed with a three to give Castleton a 49-33 advantage just 57 seconds into the half. The Pilgrims managed to cut the lead to 12 but never got any closer over the next nine minutes.

Following a pair of free throws by Chad Copeland, Mohamed hit a layup to pull his team within 14, 70-56, with 9:34 remaining. Ackley responded with a pair of free throws and the Spartans recorded consecutive steals and layups in the backcourt to push the lead to 20 and end any threat of a comeback. Castleton led by as much as 26, at the 7:15 mark, before both teams subbed liberally, with the Spartans cruising to the 91-75 win.

Castleton looks to maintain its spot atop the NAC standings when the team travels to face Colby-Sawyer on Saturday at 3 pm.