WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Castleton University men's basketball team dropped the opening contest of the Rick Martin Hampton Inn Tournament hosted by Westfield State on Friday night, falling to William Paterson by a final score of 82-70 in neutral-site action.
 
Castleton sits at 2-2 after the loss, while William Paterson improves to 2-0 on the young season. The Pioneers shot 43.1 percent from the floor (31-72) and 24.2 percent from behind the arc (8-33). The Spartans shot 40.4 percent from the field (23-57) and 27 percent from three-point range (10-37). William Paterson generated 27 points off turnovers to Castleton's six. The Pioneers also controlled the paint, outscoring the Spartans 38-26. Castleton held the edge in bench points 23-10.
 
Jackson Atty led Castleton in scoring with 17 points, knocking down three three-pointers and going 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. Joe Alamprese added nine points, as did Remy Brown. Alamprese and Brown also led Castleton in rebounding with six apiece. Darrell Hardge had seven points to go with a career-high nine assists in the loss.
 
Five Pioneers reached double figures in scoring, including Adryan Lopez with a game-high 18 points. Nick Rodriguez collected 17 points and seven rebounds and Domenic Mignone added 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Jadon Cepeda scored eleven points, with Brian Monaghan adding 10.
 
The game was close through the first 12-plus minutes, as Castleton trailed by only four when Kurgan Brown hit a three. William Paterson began to pull away from there, however, using an 11-1 run to take a 30-16 lead with 4:29 left in the half. Castleton whittled away at the lead over the remaining minutes of the half, closing the stanza on a 9-2 run to trail 39-30 at the break,
 
Castleton eliminated the deficit completely just eight minutes into the second half, when Johnny Torrence knocked down a three to level the score at 47-47. William Paterson responded with a 10-0 run, however, running ahead to a 57-47 advantage. Castleton again chipped away at the gap, making it just a two-point game on a triple by Justin Schwarzbeck, 68-66. The Pioneers again had the answer to Castleton's progress, bouncing back with an 11-1 run to push the lead to 12 points, 79-67, with 1:38 to play. Both sides added late threes—Castleton's from Atty and William Paterson's from Lopez—to give the game the final score of 82-70.
 
Castleton will face NVU-Lyndon at noon Saturday in the consolation game of the Rick Martin Hampton Inn Tournament at Westfield State.