CASTLETON, Vt. – The No. 3 Spartans couldn't overcome an 18-point halftime deficit as they fell 112-104 to sixth-seeded Endicott in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament on Wednesday evening in Glenbrook Gym. 

Castleton shot just 37.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and 4-for-18 from beyond the arc as the team fell behind 64-46. The Spartans shot 58.3 percent from the field in the second half but it wasn't enough as they ended their season at 19-9. 

The Gulls shot 49.4 percent from the floor in the game and dominated the boards by a 55-40 margin, while getting 23 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds. Endicott also shot from 27-for-31 from the charity stripe as the team improved to 18-9 and advances to face Johnson & Wales in the ECAC Semifinals. 

Chad Copeland scored a career-high 34 points to lead the Castleton offense, including 26 points on 12-for-14 shooting in the second half. The sophomore also added five rebounds and two blocks. Carnelius Green was impressive with 23 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. Troy Davine was also in double figures with 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists. 

Six players scored in double figures for Endicott, led by John Henault with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Tell White added 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench while Kamahi Walker was solid with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Daquan Sampson chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds in just 12 minutes of action. 

The Spartans actually jumped out to a 10-4 lead on a three from Casey McGraw just 1:41 into the contest, and after a Sampson three-point play went in front 12-7 on a jumper by Copeland. Castleton then went cold from the field and the Gulls took advantage, going on a 20-0 run over the next five minutes to blow it open 27-12. Green broke the scoring drought at 12:44 and the Spartans pulled back within six, 29-23, on a pair of Rob Coloutti free throws at 10:35. 

One minute later Alex Homkey made it 31-27, but Walker went on a 5-2 run to make it a seven-point game. Castleton cut the Gull lead to four, 38-34, on a three from Green with 8:17 left, but once again Endicott took control, going on a 11-2 spurt to take a 49-36 lead with 4:34 remaining. The Gulls' lead stretched as high 20 and they went into the break with a 64-46 advantage. 

Endicott extended its lead to 23 less than two minutes into the half, however, an 8-3 Castleton run cut the lead to 17. The teams traded baskets over the next seven minutes, until a layup from Copeland made it 92-75 at 10:08. His bucket jumpstarted a 9-2 to sliced the Gull advantage to 12 with 8:15 left. 

Trailing 97-82 at 7:70, Castleton went on an 8-0 run to cut Endicott's lead to seven. The Gulls countered, but a pair of Copeland jump shots closed the lead to 101-96 with 4:07 remaining. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes before a pair of Tyler Ackley free throws and another Copeland layup cut the deficit to just 106-102 with 1:09 left. However, Endicott scored on its next possession and went 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 45 seconds to secure the 112-104 victory. 

Logan White was also in double figures for Castleton with 12 points, but went just 3-for-14 from the field. Homkey was solid in 16 minutes with seven points, three rebounds and three assists. 

The 19 wins is tied for the most during Paul Culpo's five years at Castleton and the .678 winning percentage is the highest for a Spartan squad since the team went 19-8 (.704) during the 1997-98 season.

Notes: Tyler Ackley played in his 112th career game tonight, setting new Castleton career record and breaking the mark of 110 set by Mark Comstock (2009-13) and Sheldon Crosby (1985-89) … Logan White finished his career with 1,227 points, tied for 10th in program history … White's 249 career three-point field goals is second all-time … Ackley finished his career with 395 assists, sixth in program history … Castleton's 2,730 (97.5) points set a new single-season program record .. The Spartans 1,259 rebounds is a single-season program record.