CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team closed out the season with a victory over Little East Conference opponent Eastern Connecticut State Saturday afternoon, downing the Warriors by a final score of 69-59 on Senior Day at Glenbrook Gym.

Castleton wraps the 2019-20 campaign with a record of 4-21 overall at 3-13 in LEC play, while EastConn finishes the season 10-15 overall and 6-10 in the conference. Neither team qualified for the upcoming LEC Tournament. Castleton shot 41.0 percent as a team (25-of-61), while EastConn knocked down 35.7 percent (20-of-56). The Spartans were more efficient from three, knocking down 11-of-34, while EastConn hit just 6-of-34 from deep. Castleton won the rebounding battle, 42-35, though the Spartans turned the ball over 17 times to EastConn's 14.

Casey Belade led all players with 24 points in his final career game, hitting 10-of-19 from the field including a 4-of-11 mark from three. He added four rebounds as well. Remy Brown netted 15 points for Castleton in a 4-for-10 day shooting while also grabbing five rebounds. Amadou Diakite rounded out the Spartans in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Demauriaye Smith had a well-rounded outing in his final game, posting seven points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Jake McCarthy had a team-high 14 points for Eastern Connecticut, though Jake Collagan was close behind with 13 points. Cory Muckle and Seth Thomas added eight points each, with Thomas leading the team in rebounds, with nine.

Castleton got out to an early lead, though Eastern Connecticut hung tight and leveled the score at 15-15 with 13:18 remaining in the opening frame. The Warriors took their first lead of the game on the ensuing possession, 17-15, but Diakite buried a three to give Castleton the edge again, 18-17. EastConn answered with four unanswered points to push its lead to three—21-18—but Castleton tied it up at 21-all when Belade knocked down a triple with 10:46 left on the clock. The three sparked an 11-0 run for Castleton which featured five points from Belade and six from Brown to put Castleton ahead, 29-21. Castleton never trailed again, though EastConn battled back to tie the score at 31-31 with less than four minutes left in the first half after a 10-2 run. The Spartans closed the half out strong, taking a 39-34 lead into the break following a corner three by John Walsh with just seconds remaining before the half.

The Spartans added to their lead on the opening possession of the half when Belade knocked down a jumper to make it 41-34, part of a 6-1 run that gave Castleton a 10-point lead—45-35. EastConn never got closer than eight points from that point forward, as Castleton had an answer every time the Warriors looked to post a run. The Spartans extended their lead to as many as 15—65-50—with 2:27 to play when Diakite hit a layup to cap a 6-0 Spartan run. A late layup by Belade finished the scoring on the afternoon, sealing the win for Castleton, 69-59.

Castleton honored four seniors playing in their final game Saturday: Belade, Smith, Denis LeCours and Igor Almeida. The Spartans are slated to return eight players next season, including a two-time LEC Rookie of the Week in Brown, and the team's leading rebounder in Oluwadare Sowunmi.