CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans never trailed, but led by just one point midway through the second half before eventually pulling away for a 70-60 victory over Thomas in the North Atlantic Conference Quarterfinals on Tuesday evening in Glenbrook Gym. 

After a jumper from Eric Westbrooks cut the Castleton lead to just 55-54 with 7:49 left, Pavin Parrish found Casey McGraw on the wing behind the arc and the junior hit nothing but net to stretch it to a four-point game. The Spartan lead didn't drop below five the rest of the game as they advanced to their sixth consecutive NAC Semifinals. 

Castleton shot 44.1 percent from the floor and went 13-for-16 from the charity stripe while holding the Terriers to 33.1 percent shooting and 6-for-23 from beyond the arc. The Spartans also outrebounded Thomas 45-33. 

Junior Chad Copeland was a force all over the court, grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds, to go with 19 points, five assists and four blocked shots. McGraw, meanwhile, finished with a season-high 13 points, including three triples, while pulling down six boards. Carnelius Green was also in double figures with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals while Rob Coloutti added ten points and three rebounds. 

Senior Eric Westbrooks was impressive for the Terriers, using a vast array of offensive moves down low to finish with a season-high 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting. He also added four rebounds and two assists. Levi Barnes was also in double figures with 17 points, three rebounds and one block. Justin Murray added five points and six boards off the bench. 

The Spartans scored the first five points of the game and pulled in front 14-10 on a Copeland layup at 15:34. Four straight by Westbrooks tied the game but a Green dunk put Castleton back in front. Leading just 20-19 after a Adam Carlsen three with 10:00 min left, the Spartans went on a 13-4 run over the next six minutes to pull in ahead 33-23. Murray eventually made it 35-27 on a free throw with 1:13 remaining, but a Parrish three-point play gave Castleton a 38-27 lead at the break. 

McGraw scored the first bucket of the second half and the Spartans stretched their lead to 45-32 at 16:56 on a free throw by Alexander Homkey. Thomas responded with an 11-2 run to pull within four, 47-43, at 13:33. A Copeland three-point play pushed the lead back to seven but the Terriers made an 11-5 run to close the gap to one on the Westbrooks shot. McGraw's triple jumpstarted a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 64-56 with 3:24 left and Castleton hit its free throws late to secure the ten-point win. 

The Spartans improve to 14-12 with the win while Thomas ends its season at 12-14. Castleton returns to action on Friday when its travels to play No. 1 seed Colby-Sawyer at 6:00 pm in the NAC Semifinals.