NEW LONDON, N.H. – No. 4 seed Castleton had its chances to take a lead late in both overtimes but couldn't net the go ahead basket in the second OT as top-seeded Colby-Sawyer hung on for a thrilling 79-76 victory in the North Atlantic Conference Semifinals on Friday evening. 

Trailing just 77-76 with seconds left in double overtime, the Spartans were unable to get a shot to fall and were forced to foul Peter Donato with just eight seconds left. The junior missed both free throws and Chad Copeland grabbed the defensive rebound. Castleton tried to set up a final play with three seconds left following a timeout but the ball was stolen by Koang Thok. He was fouled and made both free throws for the three-point lead before last second inbounds heave was intercepted. 

Castleton shot 40.6 percent from the floor, 38.1 percent from three and went 16-for-19 from the free throw line but were outrebounded 47-37 and turned the ball over 21 times. Colby-Sawyer, turned the ball over 18 times but made 41.4 percent of its shots from the floor to advance to the NAC Championship on Saturday at 2 pm. 

Five players scored in double figures for the Spartans, led by Copeland with 16 points, ten rebounds and two steals. Carnelius Green was solid in his final game in Castleton green, posting 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Pavin Parrish added 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals off the bench. 

Junior Wol Majong played a game-high 48 minutes while posting 27 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five assists to lead the Chargers. Donato added 11 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and two steals while Mike Dias chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists. 

The two teams traded baskets over the first five minutes, before an 11-2 run gave Colby-Sawyer a 17-8 advantage at 12:01. Castleton countered with a run of its own and Alexander Homkey and Casey McGraw connected on back-to-back triples to give the Spartans a 20-19 lead. Castleton eventually extended its lead to 30-22 on shots from downtown by Doug Krouse and Rob Coloutti in the final five minutes before going into the half with a 32-25 advance. 

In the second half, Colby-Sawyer cut the deficit to six on a Thok layup at 16:49 but Copeland countered with a layup of his own. However, Majong came back with a three, jumpstarting a 10-0 spurt to pull in front 42-40 with 12:15 left. Neither team could gain a lead greater than three over the next 11 minutes, until a pair of free throws from Green made it 62-58 with 1:32 left. Dias countered with a jumper and after a turnover and foul Majong made a pair of free throws to tie it 62-62 with 54 seconds left. Both teams missed shots in the last 21 seconds to send the game to overtime. 

Homkey led off overtime with a three and with 2:53 left gave the Spartans a 76-65 lead on a pair of free throws. Green made a layup at 2:00 but Donato countered with a bucket to tie it 69 apiece. Both offenses stalled in the final two minutes to send the game to a second overtime. 

Colby-Sawyer scored first and pushed its lead to 73-73 on a triple from Majong on the wing with 2:42 remaining. Coloutti missed a three on the team's next possession but Parrish made a free throw and a jumper after a Dias free throw to cut the deficit to on, 77-76 and set up the late-game drama. 

Castleton concludes its season with a 14-13 record while the Chargers advance to face Husson in the NAC Championship on Saturday at 2 pm.