CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans grabbed a one-point lead early in the second half but Thomas answered and eventually pulled away for the 102-93 victory on Friday evening in North Atlantic Conference action.

Castleton shot just 35.3 percent from the floor and went 17-for-52 from beyond arc as the team dropped to 12-10 and 10-6 in the NAC. The Spartans did outrebound the Terriers 52-44, but the visitors shot 53.5 percent overall and 10-for-19 from downtown to improve to 10-12 and 8-7 in conference play.

Thomas' Levin Barnes was lights out on the day, making his first eight shots and finishing with a career-high 40 points on 17-for-28 shooting to go with six rebounds. Eric Westbrooks came up big with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists off the bench while Ian King recorded 13 assists, seven rebounds and two points.

Senior Alexander Homkey had the hot hand for the Spartans, connecting on a career-best seven triples for a career-high 28 points to go with six rebounds and three steals. Rob Coloutti was the only other Spartan in double figures with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Casey McGraw chipped in nine points, five rebounds and three assists.  

It was back and forth earlu as the teams drew even six times in the first five minutes. A dunk by Barnes put the Terriers up 19-18 at 14:23, but Castleton came back with five straight for the 22-18 lead with 13:54 left on a three from Josh Horton. Thomas responded with a 14-0 spurt to pull in front 32-22 on a layup by Mike Akanji with 10:53 left. The Spartans were able to draw within five at 8:24 on a three from Coloutti and then made it a four-point game, 41-37, on free throws by Homkey with 5:57 remaining. The Terriers countered with a 9-1 run to grab a 50-38 lead with 2:26 left, but the Spartans were able to bring it back to nine, 57-48, at the break.

Castleton opened the second half on an 11-2 run, capped off by a three from Coloutti to pull within two, 61-59 at 16:24. On the Spartans' next possession Coloutti found Doug Krouse in the corner for a triple to give them a 62-61 lead. However, Thomas responded with an 18-1 run over three minutes to grab a lead 79-63 with 12:25 left.

Homkey countered with back-to-back triples to cut the deficit to ten points and Coloutti connected on a pair of free throws at 7:59 to make it 79-71. Homkey drilled another three and after a layup by Westbrooks connected once again from downtown to trim it to just 81-77 with 6:46 left. Barnes answered with a three to end the threat and the Terriers extended their lead to ten over the next three minutes. Castleton wouldn't get closer than seven in the final four minutes as Thomas secured the nine-point win.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they host UMaine Farmington at 12 pm in Glenbrook Gym.