WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Castleton University men's basketball team dropped a road contest Wednesday night to Eastern Connecticut State University, falling to the Warriors by a final score of 72-46 in Little East Conference play.

The Spartans fall to 2-15 overall and 1-7 in LEC action, while EastConn improves to 8-9 on the year with a 4-4 mark in conference play. The Warriors shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) as a team, while Castleton managed just 28.3 percent (15-of-53) from the floor. EastConn knocked down 14 threes to Castleton's three, though Castleton made 13 free throws to Eastern's four. The Spartans won the turnover battle with just 13 miscue's to the Warriors' 15, but EastConn capitalized on the Spartan errors with 21 points off turnovers while Castleton had just 12. The Warriors controlled the glass, 38-28.

Amadou Diakite had a team-high nine points for Castleton, making 3-of-8 from the field. Demauriaye Smith had seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, while Oluwadare Sowunmi had seven points on 2-of-4 from the field. Sowunmi also added nine rebounds to lead the team. Nate Plaisted and Remy Brown had five points each.

Eastern Connecticut was led by 22 points from Cory Muckle, followed by 21 points from Jake Collagan. Collagan was 7-of-15 shooting with five threes on the day in addition to six rebounds and six assists. Seth Thomas also reached double digits with 15 points.

The Warriors got off to a quick start, opening the game on a 10-2 run to take a commanding lead early. Castleton never got closer than five points in the first half, though the lead never exceeded 12 points as Castleton buckled down following the slow start. The Spartans got the lead back to eight points with two minutes remaining in the half after a three-point play by Diakite, but a late three by Collagan sent the Warriors into halftime ahead by 11, 34-23.

The Warriors opened up the game out of the locker room, going on a 12-1 run out of the break to take a 22-point lead, 46-24. The lead continued to grow over the ensuing minutes, reaching 28 points with 7:38 to play after a pair of free throws by Collagan. Castleton then went on a 6-0 run, with Walsh hitting a three to start the string of Spartan points. Eastern stretched the lead back to 28 once more late in the game, but Sowunmi hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to give the game its final score, 72-46.

Castleton returns to action Saturday at Glenbrook Gym against UMass Dartmouth. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.