Spartans Fall to Lyndon St. 74-68

Lyndonville, Vt. – Castleton took a lead midway through second half but Lyndon St. controlled the final ten minutes and came away with the 74-68 victory in North Atlantic Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

The Spartans shot 40.8 percent from the field and went 9-for-28 from beyond the arc but dropped to 8-8 overall and 6-3 in the NAC. Lyndon St., on the other hand, improved to 8-7 and 7-3 conference play. 

Mark Comstock led Castleton with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals while Logan White chipped in with 17 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists. Rob Coloutti joined them in double figures with 12 points and four steals. 

Devyn Baranauskas scored 20 points to lead the Hornets while Jason Gray and Jose Fortunato each had double-doubles. Gray went for 13 points and 10 rebounds while Fortunato finished with 12 assists, 11 rebounds, five steal and five points. 

The Spartans jumped out to a 7-2 lead but Lyndon St. tied it back up 7-7 3:01 into the contest. Both teams traded baskets, until a 6-0 run gave Castleton a 19-16 lead with 13:11 left in the first half. The Hornets countered with six straight of their own to go ahead 22-19 with 8:49 remaining. 

A 9-2 run over the next two minutes gave the Spartan a 28-24 advantage, though Lyndon St. came back with seven consecutive points to a 31-28 lead with 4:52 left. The Hornets continued to solve the Castleton defense and outscored the Spartans 13-4 over the final five minutes of the half.

Castleton opened the second on an 8-2 run to close the gap to 47-40 with 16:21 left. Gray tried to end the run with a jumper, but the Spartans scored the next 13 points, punctuated with a Comstock triple and a Coloutti jump shot with 11:45 remaining to give Castleton a 53-49 lead. 

Fortunato responded with a 5-0 run to give the Hornets and 54-53 lead and Lyndon St. scored the next five as well to push its lead to 59-53 with 9:17 left. Castleton pulled back within two, 64-62, at the 4:10 mark, but five straight points over the next two minutes extended the lead to 69-62. The Spartans wouldn't get any closer than four in the final two minutes as they fell 74-68.

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday at 7:30 pm when the Spartans host Green Mountain in Glenbrook Gym.