NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Chad Copeland received a pass in the lane and took a dribble to his right before knocking down the game-winning bucket with just two seconds remaining in overtime, as Castleton captured its first win of the year with a 98-97 victory at MCLA.

Castleton trailed by as many as eight in the second half, but outscored the Trailblazers by seven over the final 12:22 of regulation to force overtime. The Spartans then went 2-for-3 from the line in the extra period, while Copeland added two huge blocks and a defensive rebound with 23 seconds left that led to his eventual game-winner. 

Copeland led all scorers with 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting to go along with 19 boards for his first double-double of the season. Rob Coloutti scored 18 first-half points en route to 26 in the game after going 8-of-16 from the field, including 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. Joshua Horton chipped in 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Julian Santos Molina finished with five points, seven assists and three boards.

Careem Kirksey and Paul Maurice paced the Trailblazer attack with 18 points apiece. Kirksey shot 6-of-10 overall and 3-of-5 from the three-point line, while Maurice went 6-of-18 from the floor with 16 boards and nine assists. Khalil Paul and Joe Wiggins finished in double digits with 17 and 16 points apiece.

Castleton shot 36.8 percent from the field with 16 triples, as they improved to 1-1 on the season. MCLA, meanwhile, drops to 2-2 on the season despite holding the edge in rebounds, assists, blocks, bench points and second-chance points.

The Trailblazers got off to a quick start after Kirksey scored seven points in the opening 2:43 of play to hand the squad a 10-5 lead. At the 11:36 mark, the Spartans finally brought the game back to level terms after Copeland knocked down a jumper to tie the game at 20 apiece. The senior forward made his second three-pointer of the year on the very next possession to give the visitors their first lead of the game, 23-20. 

MCLA responded by going on a 9-0 run that included a four-point play from Maurice to reclaim a six-point advantage. The hosts continued to maintain the momentum, as Maurice made a pair of free throws with 6:14 left in the first half to give the Trailblazers their largest lead of the game, 44-33. Castleton rallied over the final minutes of the opening stanza, outscoring the hosts 20-11 to make it a two-point game at 58-56 heading into the break.

Pavin Parrish scored the first bucket of the second half to tie the game at 58-58, but the Trailblazers responded with seven consecutive points capped off by a jumper from Wiggins to go in front by seven. Tyler Arsenault's layup at the 13:18 mark cut the Spartan deficit back to three before Paul and Isshiah Coleman extended the hosts' advantage back to seven at 73-66 with a pair of buckets. 

Once again, Castleton fought its way back, as Horton knocked down a pair of free throws with just 4:39 remaining to make it 85 all. Less than two minutes later, Edmund Fitzgerald hit the first of two free throws to hand the visitors their first lead of the second half at 90-89.

After Paul knocked down a free throw to tie the game at 90, the Spartans had one more chance in regulation to win it. Parrish took the ball with less than eight seconds left and drove the ball into the lane before the referees called a foul. The sophomore guard then stepped up to the line with three seconds remaining on a one-and-one opportunity, but he missed the shot long and the game headed into overtime.

Trailing 94-92 with just 2:35 left in the extra period, Copeland came up with a pair of huge blocks on back-to-back possessions, as Parrish and Coloutti scored on the other end to give the squad a two-point advantage. Dakari Hannah-Workum knocked down a pair of free throws and Wiggins added one of his own with 23 seconds left to give MCLA a one-point advantage. However, Copeland wasn't going to be stopped, as he hit a turn-around jumper in the lane to seal a 98-97 victory in overtime.

The Spartans return to action next Tuesday when they travel to New Hampshire to battle the Plymouth St. Panthers in non-conference action at 7:30 pm.