Henniker, N.H. – Castleton won its fifth straight game behind another dominant first-half performance, taking care of New England College 90-67 on Thursday evening in North Atlantic Conference action. 

The Spartans put up 57 points in the opening 20 minutes while shooting 53.8 percent from the field to improve to 14-10 and 12-5 in the NAC. Castleton finished the evening at 45.1 percent from the field and shot an impressive 18-for-20 from the charity stripe while recording 19 assists. The Pilgrims shot 35.1 percent from the floor as they dropped to 2-22 and 2-15 in conference action. 

Logan White had the hot hand, going 5-for-6 from downtown in the first half and finishing with six triples and 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Freshman Chad Copeland was right behind him with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Junior Tyler Ackley didn't score but dished off a career-high 10 assists and swiped three steals. 

Abdirahman Mohamed scored 22 points but shot just 8-for-25 from the field while also adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Ryan Schmitz joined him in double figures with 17 points and five steals.

The Spartans scored the first two baskets of the game and opened the half on a 15-5 run in the first 3:24. NEC made a 14-5 run and closed the gap 20-19 with 12:27 left, however, Mark Comstock responded with pair of free throws. After a Pilgrim layup, David Brandt jumpstarted 15-6 run to put Castleton firmly in front 37-27 with 7:21 remaining. The Spartan offense continued to find the range and scored 20 points over the final seven minutes of the half to finish with a 57-41 lead at the break. 

In the second Castleton continued to press its advantage early, with a three from Casey McGraw giving the Spartans a 73-49 lead with 12:12 remaining. The Castleton lead reached as high as 27 before finishing with the 90-67 victory. 

The win marks the fourth straight in which the Spartans have scored at least 84 points and shot at least 44 percent from the field. Castleton has now earned its fourth consecutive season with at least 14 wins, the first time the program has achieved that milestone since an eight-season streak from 1981-1989. 

The Spartans conclude their regular season on Saturday when they host Colby-Sawyer at 1 pm.