Box Score CASTLETON, Vt. – Rob Coloutti led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, as Castleton picked up its third consecutive victory on Tuesday evening with a 93-76 win over New England College (NEC) at Glenbrook Gymnasium.
The Spartans shot 51.6 percent from the field, including 15-for-29 from beyond the arc, to move back to .500 with a 7-7 (5-3 NAC) overall record. The Pilgrims converted on 37.9 percent of their field goals and hit 12-of-29 three pointers, but were limited to just two threes in the second half as they suffered their third straight loss to fall to 7-9 (4-5 NAC) on the season.
Coloutti tallied 20 of his team-leading 28 points in the first half after knocking down 6-of-9 threes in the opening 20 minutes of play. Overall, the junior shot 50 percent from the field with eight of his nine field goals coming from behind the three-point line. Chad Copeland added 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting with six boards and five blocks, while Doug Krouse knocked down five treys to chip in 15 points from the bench.
CJ Capilets shot 7-for-16 from the field, including 7-for-15 from downtown, to lead all NEC players with 21 points, but didn't score in the second half. Dezron Wilson was right behind him, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go along with six assists and four rebounds. Jonathan Byrnes was the only other Pilgrim to reach double digits in scoring, as he compiled 13 points with six boards.
NEC got off to a quick 9-2 lead after Capilets hit three treys in the opening 1:13 of regulation. The Spartans battled back, however, and cut the deficit to one when Pavin Parrish knocked down a pair of free throws with 14:49 remaining in the first half.
The Pilgrims then pushed their lead to seven at the 8:35 mark after Joel DeMadet scored on a layup for the 27-20 advantage. That lead didn't last long though as the Spartans went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:23 to take a 29-27 lead.
NEC took back the lead with 4:32 remaining in the first, 33-31, after Capilets knocked down his sixth three-pointer, but Coloutti responded with 11 points in the final 3:31 of play to help Castleton take a 45-42 lead into the break.
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Carnelius Green scored the first Spartan bucket in the second half with an emphatic, one-handed jam, as the hosts tallied eight straight points out of the break to push their lead to 11.
After both teams traded points for a few minutes, NEC was able to cut the deficit back to ten when Wilson hit a three at the 9:18 mark to make it 69-59. However, over the next five minutes of play Castleton outscored the Pilgrims 21-9 including back-to-back triples from Krouse and then a three Coloutti for the 88-68 lead before eventually settling for the 93-76 victory.
Parrish was also in double figures for the Spartans with 10 points and a game-high nine assists. Green added eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
The Spartans are back in action this weekend with a pair of conference games at Maine-Farmington on Friday at 7:30 pm and Thomas on Saturday at 3:00 pm.
