CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team's offense struggled to get going Wednesday night as the Spartans fell to UMass Boston in Little East Conference action by a final score of 69-43 at Glenbrook Gym.

Castleton (3-19, 2-11 LEC) shot just 16.7 percent in the first half, but rebounded in the second half by shooting 40.7 percent over the final 20 minutes to finish the game at 29.4 percent (15-of-51). The Beacons hit 45.6 percent from the field (26-of-57), including 32.1 percent from three (9-of-28). UMass Boston dominated the rebounding battle, 46-27, leading to a 16-2 edge in second-chance points. The Beacons turned it over 16 times while Castleton had just 12 turnovers.

Remy Brown led all Spartans with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Oluwadare Sowunmi had a team-high nine rebounds, while Casey Belade had eight points Denis LeCours chipped in seven points off the bench. Belade was 2-of-3 from three.

Michael Boyd logged a 15-point, 11-assist double-double for the Beacons, leading all scorers in the contest. Mark Munroe also had a double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 15 rebounds—six of which were on the offensive glass. Charles Mitchell had 14 points and eight rebounds on the night, scoring his 1,000th career point for the Beacons in the early minutes of the game.

Both offenses struggled in the outset of the contest, as the score was just 8-6 through eight minutes of action. With 11:58 remaining in the half, Mariano Rodriguez jump-started the Beacons' offense with a three. The basket kicked off a 33-2 run that spanned into the final minute of the opening half. Brown broke the streak with an old-fashioned three-point play before John Walsh hit a corner three to end the half with the Spartans trailing 41-14.

Castleton outscored UMass Boston in the second half, 29-28, forcing 10 turnovers in the final 20 minutes including five steals and a 10-second backcourt violation. Each of LeCours' points came in the final stanza, as did Belade's eight. Neither side scored more than five unanswered points, though Castleton ran off a pair of five-point runs in the half as it worked to cut into the Beacons' lead.

Castleton returns to action Saturday at Southern Maine at 3 p.m.