CASTLETON, Vt. – Skidmore led just 60-58 with nine minutes left in regulation, but finished the game on a 26-9 run to pull away for an 86-67 victory over Castleton in the Spartans' home opener at Glenbrook Gym on Tuesday evening. 

The Thoroughbreds trailed by one point at the half, 43-42, but locked down on defense in the final 20 minutes and outscored Castleton 44-24 to improve to 1-1 overall. They finished the contest shooting 55.2 percent from the floor and 8-for-23 from beyond the arc. The Spartans, meanwhile, made just 31.3 percent of their shots and hit 11 of 42 attempts from downtown, but did dish off 13 assists on their 21 field goals. 

Sophomore Pavin Parrish paced the offense with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor, while senior Chad Copeland was also in double figures with 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Freshman Julian Santos Molina recorded eight points, four assists and two rebounds in his debut while classmate Edmund Fitzgerald added five points, three rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes off the bench. 

Six players scored in double figures for Skidmore, led by Erik Sanders' double-double of 18 points, ten rebounds and four assists. Martin Bedulskij added 17 points and ten rebounds while Royce Paris had 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. Aldin Medunjanin was also in double figures with ten points, six rebounds and one steal. 

Parrish opened up the game with a three off a feed from Santos Molina on the team's opening possesion and the freshman added a triple from the top of the arc less than a minute later for the 6-2 advantage. Castleton pushed its lead to 10-4 on a layup by Copeland at 17:31 before a Skidmore run turned it into an 18-13 contest in favor of the visitors minutes later.

The Thoroughbreds stretched their lead to ten, 28-18, midway through the period, but a 10-0 run evened the game at 28 apiece with 6:37 left. The two teams traded baskets over the last six minutes and a pair of free throws from Kyle Adams with five seconds left gave Castleton a 43-42 led at the break. 

Early in the second half it remained close, with a Parrish layup providing the Spartans a 51-48 lead with 16:57 left. However, an 8-0 Skidmore run gave the Thoroughbreds a 56-51 advantage four minutes later. Castleton did close within two on a jumper by Copeland on the baseline to make it 60-58 with 9:06 remaining. Skidmore responded with six points in just 63 seconds to exted it to an eight-point game and three minutes later stretched it to 74-62 advantage at the six-minute mark. The Thoroughbreds outscored Castleton 12-5 the rest of the way to earn the 19-point victory. 

The Spartans return to action on Friday when they travel to face MCLA for a 7:30 pm contest.