FARMINGTON, Maine – The Spartans broke open a tight game with 13 straight points late in the second half to grab a 20-point lead before finishing with a 68-51 victory over the University of Maine Farmington on Friday evening. 

Castleton shot 44.8 percent in the game, 8-for-20 from downtown and outrebounded the Beavers 43-33 to improve to 8-7 and 6-3 in the North Atlantic Conference. UMF connected on just 29.2 percent of its shots and was a mere 4-for-23 from beyond the arc as the team dropped to 4-11 and 3-6 in conference play. 

Three different Spartans scored in double figures, led by Rob Coloutti with 18 points and seven rebounds. Chad Copeland was big inside, pulling down six offensive rebounds and 11 total, while scoring 12 points for the double-double. Carnelius Green was also in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. Tondi Mushandu did a bit of everything with seven points, five rebounds and four steals. 

Jimmie Chaisson scored a team-high 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench while adding six rebounds and one steal. Uriah Forest-Bulley was also in double figures with ten points, eight of which came from the charity stripe, along with five rebounds and two steals. 

Castleton opened the game on a 14-4 run over the first 6:45 but the offense slowed and UMF eventually closed within four on a Dustin Zamboni layup at 7:33 to trail 18-14. The Spartans pushed the lead back up to eight on back-to-back layups by Pavin Parrish and Copeland with 2:13 left. A late three by the Beavers made it a five-point game before Copeland scored on a tip in at the buzzer to provide a 29-22 advantage at the break. 

In the second the Spartans scored first and eventually extended their lead to 41-28 on a 4-0 spurt by Mushandu at 12:56. The Beavers pulled back within seven, at 44-37 and again at 49-42, with 7:28 left. Doug Krouse responded with a triple to make it a 12-point game and that jumpstarted a 15-0 run as Castleton's lead climbed to 20 in the final five minutes before settling for the 17-point win. 

The Spartans return to action on Saturday at 3 pm when they travel to face Thomas, who beat Green Mountain 93-76 tonight.