KEENE, N.H. – The Castleton University men's basketball team made a late comeback attempt Wednesday night but came up on the short side of a 67-53 final score at Keene State in Little East Conference action.

The Spartans fall to 2-17 overall and 1-9 in LEC play, while Keene State improves to 7-12 with a 5-5 mark in the LEC. The Spartans shot 34.9 percent (15-of-43) from the floor while knocking down 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from three. The Owls hit 42.1 percent (24-of-57) on the day with a 26.5 percent (9-of-34) rate from long range. The Owls outrebounded Castleton 42-30, though Castleton had fewer turnovers—14 to Keene's 15. The Spartans cashed in on the miscues to the tune of 17 points, while Keene State had just eight points off turnovers.

Remy Brown had a team-high 16 points on the day, going 4-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 at the free-throw line. Casey Belade added 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while Nate Plaisted led the team with four assists and three steals. Brown, Amadou Diakite and Demauriaye Smith each had four rebounds to lead the Spartans on the glass.

Four players reached double figures scoring for the Owls, led by 14 points off the bench from DeVon Beasley. Sidi Diallo added 13 points for Keene State, while Jeff Hunter notched a 12-pount, 11-rebound double-double. Jaylen Franklin capped the double-digit scorers with 11 points off the bench.

The game started slow for both sides offensively, as the score sat at 7-1 in favor of Keene nearly eight minutes into the game. Castleton remained within six points at 13-7 with 11:05 remaining in the half, but a 9-0 run by the Owls pushed Keene State ahead, 22-7. The lead grew to as many as 20 points in the half as Keene continued to extend the lead to 35-15. Castleton cut into the lead slightly before halftime, trailing 35-18 at the break.

The Spartans came out of the locker room with energy, slowly chipping away at the Owls' lead. Castleton cut the deficit to just 10 points for the first time with just before the midway point of the half when Belade drilled a three, but a dunk on the other end of the floor put the Owls up 12, 49-37. Brown pulled Castleton within nine on the ensuing possession, 49-40, but James Anozie muscled home a layup to make it a double-digit game once more. Castleton pulled within seven points after a Oluwadare Sowunmi layup and a corner three by Denis LeCours, making it a 52-45 game with 7:38 to play. Castleton got no closer, however, as the Owls kept the Spartans at bay from that point forward. The deficit remained at seven points as late as 5:13 remaining, but a 5-0 run by the Owls pushed the lead back to 12. A pair of free throws by Brown made it a 60-51 game with 1:54 remaining, but the Owls rattled off seven straight points to push the lead to 67-51 with just 13 seconds left. Brown hit a pair of late free throws for Castleton, giving the game its final score of 67-53.

The Spartans return to action Saturday at 5 p.m. when they host Rhode Island College at Glenbrook Gym.