MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Castleton held a slim in the opening two minutes, before Middlebury took control midway through the first half on the way to a 96-74 victory in Pepin Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. 

The Spartans led 5-4 1:40 into the contest, but the Panthers quickly took back the lead and kept it over 20 points for most of the second half as Castleton dropped to 3-5 overall. Middlebury, meanwhile, improved to 4-5 overall with the win. The Spartans shot 42.6 percent overall but went just 6 of 28 from downtown, while Middlebury connected on 37.5 percent of its three-point attempts and shot 58.2 percent overall. 

Sophomore Tondi Mushandu came off the bench to provide 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals while Joshua Horton was also in double figures with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. Chad Copeland added ten points while freshman Edmund Fitzgerald provided six points, seven rebounds and two steals. 

Four players scored in double figures for the Panthers, led by Jake Brown with 16 points. He also added two rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Matt St. Amour had 12 points on four threes while Jack Daly chipped in nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. 

Copeland gave Castleton a 5-4 advantage at 18:20, but Middlebury scored the next nine points to pull in front 13-5. The Panthers led by 13 points midway through the half, though the Spartans did trim the deficit to 47-37 on a three-point play by Pavin Parrish with 1:13 left. However, Middlebury scored the final five points of the half for a 15-point advantage. 

The Panthers started the second half on a 7-0 run for a 59-37 lead. They eventually stretched their lead as high as 30 in the final seven minutes, before Castleton closed the gap to 22 on multiple occasions, the last on a layup by Mushandu with nine seconds remaining. 

The Spartans return to action on Thursday when they host Johnson St. at 7:30 pm.