BARRE, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season Friday afternoon, defeating in-state for Northern Vermont University-Johnson by a final score of 53-48 in the Granite City Shootout at the Barre Auditorium.

The Spartans rode an 11-point halftime lead to victory to move to 1-2 on the season, while the Badgers fall to 2-3 overall with the loss. Castleton shot just 37.8 percent from the floor, but Johnson struggled to the tune of 34.5 percent. Each side knocked down five threes in the contest. The difference at the free-throw line was crucial, as Castleton knocked down 82.4 percent (14-of-17) of its free throws, while the Badgers made just 5-of-11 (45.5 percent). Castleton held a narrow edge on the glass, 34-33, while each team committed 20-plus turnovers. Both benches contributed 24 points to their teams' efforts.

Terrin Roy led all players with 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting off the bench. Roy knocked down four threes and was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line on the day, adding five steals, three assists and three rebounds. Igor Almeida joined him in double digits, scoring 12 points with a 6-for-6 day at the charity stripe. Demauriaye Smith led all players on the glass with 10 rebounds and added five blocks and three assists in addition to his six points. Remy Brown also scored six points for Castleton while Casey Belade had four off the bench.

Braxton Benvenuti led Johnson with nine points off the bench, though 10 of the Badgers' 11 players that saw action notched at lead two points. Robert Dubose had seven points and seven rebounds, with Tyhee Taylor and Ayodeji Shokeye adding six points each. Kiyl Mack recorded three steals for Johnson.

The Badgers stormed out to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of play before pushing the lead to 10 points, 12-2, at the five-minute mark. The deficit remained at nine points until beyond the midway point of the half, before a pair of free throws by Roy sparked an 11-0 run to give Castleton its first lead of the day—19-17. After the Badgers knotted the score at 19-19 with 4:33 to play, the Spartans again went on an 11-0 run, shutting Johnson out the remainder of the half and carrying a 30-19 edge into the halftime break, punctuated by a three by Roy with less than 10 seconds to play in the half.

The Badgers scored the first four points out of the locker rooms, but Almeida responded with a layup to stop the quick run. Castleton continued to build on its lead, extending the margin to 15 points—40-25—with 11:19 to go when Belade dropped home a layup on an assist from Roy. Johnson narrowed the gap to 11 once more, but Castleton went on an 8-1 run to take its largest lead of the day—48-30—with 5:40 to play. The double-digit lead evaporated from there, as Johnson put together a 12-2 run to pull within eight, 50-42, with 1:18 to play. Castleton knocked down three free throws in the final minute-plus to keep the Badgers at bay, holding on for the 53-48 victory despite a pair of last-minute threes by the Badgers' Benvenuti.

Castleton concludes the Granite City Shootout Saturday at 2 p.m. against Norwich at the Barre Auditorium.