CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans locked down on defense and outscored Lyndon St. by 15 points in the second half to finish with a 78-61 victory in North Atlantic Conference action on Tuesday evening in Glenbrook Gymnasium. 

Castleton shot just 31.4 percent in the first half and held a slim 30-28 lead before heating up in the second, including a 7-for-12 performance from beyond the arc. The Spartans finished the evening at 40 percent from the field and 8-for-26 from downtown to improve to 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the NAC. 

The Hornets drop to 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference with the loss. Lyndon St. shot 35.8 percent from the field in the contest, but made just 6 of its 22 three-point attempts. The team also committed 19 turnovers compared to just 12 for Castleton. 

Jeremy Odena led the Spartans with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting and added five boards, including four on the offensive end. Logan White and Mark Comstock also reached double figures with 17 and 16 points respectively. White added five steals and four rebounds while Comstock chipped in with eight rebounds and three swipes. 

Devyn Baranauskas was one of three Hornets in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jason Gray added a double-double of 15 point and 12 boards while Jose Fortunato finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. 

Castleton fell behind 4-0 to open the game but came back with a Chris Barletta layup to grab a 7-6 advantage at 16:12. Lyndon St. responded with four straight points before a 5-0 run by the Spartans gave them back the lead, 12-10, at 14:23. 

Lyndon St. countered with an 8-0 run to take an 18-12 lead with 11:12 left. Castleton scored the next seven points to once again go ahead, 19-18, with 9:13 remaining. Neither team's lead was higher than two the rest of the half, and layup by Chad Copeland with 1:25 left gave the Spartans a 30-28 lead going into the break. 

Castleton opened the second half on an 11-3 run to grab a 41-31 advantage at 16:40. Lyndon St. responded with five straight, but a White triple pushed the lead back to eight, 44-36.

The Hornets closed within five again at 11:35; however, a layup and a free throw by Comstock over the next minute extended it to eight, 55-47. Lyndon refused to go away and cut the deficit to six with 8:15 left, though Odena and White hit back-to-back threes to double the lead, 63-51 at the 6:36 mark. The Hornets wouldn't get any closer and Castleton slowly extended its lead in the final minutes to finish with the 17-point victory. 

Rob Coloutti chipped in with seven points off the bench while Dammy Mustapha finished with seven rebounds, three assists and two points. 

Castleton returns to action on Thursday when the Spartans host New England College at 7:30 pm.